Cuts vs. construction: a battle for funds

With a declining economy and budget cuts looming over the state of Georgia, why is the construction still going on at Georgia College & State University?
Over the past five years, GC&SU has greatly improved its campus and residence life through its multi-million dollar construction projects.
Unfortunately, at the same time, faculty positions are becoming scarce, students have to pay for lab fees out of pocket, and broken equipment is hard to replace. Many are confused as to how GC&SU can afford so much construction when there are so many other problems that need to be fixed.
According to Dr. Anne Gormly, vice president and dean of faculties, it’s like having two separate bank accounts from which money can be spent only for specific things.
“The confusion is understandable since most people, including most faculty and staff as well as students, do not fully comprehend the differences among the various ways of funding the institution,” she said.
Harry Keim, vice president for business and finance at GC&SU, said the problems that arise in the university, such as broken equipment, come from the operating budget that has been cut dramatically.
“We need to have people in this state start to spend more money to help the economy get into high gear. I think it will, but it is taking longer than anyone thought it would.
“The state has been cutting these budgets because the revenues the state uses for the operating funds have been reduced because of the economy,” Keim said. “[The economy] still has not picked up enough where we can breathe easy for this coming fiscal year. We have tried to cover any problems like this from the overall budget for this area, for example, academic affairs. But there is just not enough money to handle all the problems. I think things will get better, but it is taking longer than anyone thought it would.”
The money that is used for the construction of the residence halls, library, front campus, etc. comes from bond money that was set aside for these projects long before there were serious cuts in the budget, and cannot be used for anything else but those projects.
“The residence halls are being funded out of bond money for this specific project. It gets back by the students renting their beds for the next 30 years. No state money is involved in this project,” said Keim. “The library construction and renovation is paid by the state out of capital monies that were funded by the state two years ago and were specifically approved for the GC&SU library building.”

The renovation of the Maxwell Student Union building, at approximately $750,000, is being funded by surplus funds out of the auxiliary services area. GC&SU will use these surpluses to improve services to the students.
The renovation of the Methodist Church and the new Hancock Street parking lot is being funded out of bond money,about $8 million, specific to these two projects which will be paid back through a special student fee for the next twenty years and cannot be used for any other purpose.
“I can tell you that every effort is taken to make sure that budgets are created to anticipate the instructional needs of the academic departments,” said Gormly. “When emergencies arise, as they always do, steps are taken to fix the problems.
Even with the budget cuts for the rest of this fiscal year, GC&SU plans to make the changes as painless as possible. Priorities have to be set to determine what areas need money from the budget the most.
“These are choices that are guided by individual priorities. The university has the same hard choices to make, especially when they are experiencing cuts in the operating funds.”
So, budget cuts in the state of Georgia that affect the classroom directly are not connected with the monies used to create the new facilities on campus. GC&SU is simply applying funds where they are appropriated.
Dr. Faye Gilbert, dean of the J. Whitney Bunting School of Business, also feels that until things get better for the state of Georgia, GC&SU will do all it can to make the budget cuts seem less overwhelming.
“The economy will improve in Georgia. I hope that the students are ready to say thank you to those who are trying to make the budget restrictions as painless as possible. In the long-term, the construction will improve our ability to do great things here,” said Gilbert. “While budget cuts are never pleasant, I am very impressed with the leadership at GC&SU. We may feel a bit inconvenienced for a few items, but the end result is that we have the support of the faculty, staff, Foundation, Alumni Association, administration, and the community for delivering a high quality educational experience.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 9 2004. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry