UPI weighs impact of Ryan budget; backsliding not acceptable option

Springfield, February 20,2002 — The sun wasn't shining here Wednesday, and the drizzly cold outside matched the drab-gray message of Gov. Ryan's Budget address.

For those of you who listened to the budget message, you probably were struck, as those of us in Springfield were, by the almost total lack of attention to higher education in the governor's message. (There was one oblique reference to the "top-ranked system of higher education in Illinois," as Ryan was winding up to deliver his pitch, but other than that, we were noticeable by our absence in Ryan's noontime speech from the Statehouse.)

Let's start off by telling you what we know:

Gov. Ryan unveiled a higher education budget today that leaves many questions unanswered. His $2.68 billion budget request for FY 03 fails to keep up with inflation or to continue the progress made in providing high quality educational opportunity for all Illinois students. While the final budget figures remain in flux as the legislature considers his recommendations, it is clear that Illinois public universities will face a difficult year ahead.

The governor made few direct recommendations for Higher Education, and IBHE staffers confirm that the IBHE has been asked to allocate to a funding level of $2.638 billion for FY '03. (By comparison the allocation for FY 01 was 2.5 billion, and FY 02 was estimated to be $2.667 before the guv dipped into reserves that brought us to $2.642 and THEN took a 3 percent cut ON TOP of using those reserves, bringing it to $2.563 billion for FY'02).

The Ryan administration also wants public universities to shell out $45 million out of their income funds (tuition money) to pay for group insurance. In the past these payments have not been made using tuition dollars, and the fear is that financially squeezed institutions will be forced to hike tuition to cover their costs.

The governor did recommend an increase of $24.2 million for the mandatory State Universities Retirement System payments, and has asked for $1.6 million to fund "career academy lines in the IBHE budget," according to one analysis.

Since the governor has left most of the allocation of general revenue funds to the IBHE, UPI will strenuously argue the case for preserving the progress that has been made in retaining critical faculty and staff with improved salary and benefits and for the need to improve the status and pay of our valuable part-time and non-tenure track faculty.

We will need your support in this effort to preserve our hard-won gains and continue to progress.

Report prepared by John Murphy, executive vice president; Sue Kaufman, secretary-treasurer. Research for this report was provided with the assistance of Catherine Shannon, IFT; Kathy McConnell, UPI legislative liaison and Dave Piccioli, IFT.