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The Senate’s higher ed funding numbers are not all they appear to be

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Illinois

The Senate package, which also includes tax increases, gambling expansion, pension reforms and a host of other issues, would allocate an additional $1.1 billion in the current year for higher education. That includes money for universities, community colleges and grants to low-income students through the Monetary Award Program.

Combined with nearly $1 billion for higher education that was included in a stopgap spending deal approved in June, the Senate plan would restore university funding for this year to where it was in the 2014-15 school year. Schools currently aren’t receiving any state funds because the stopgap deal expired after Dec. 31.

* But drill down…

Under the Senate’s proposal, SIU would receive $93.4 million on top of the $106.2 million it received from the June stopgap spending plan. But the university, like others across the state, used the stopgap money to pay for expenses from the 2015-16 school year, during which it received only $57.5 million from an emergency funding measure approved in April.

In effect, Charles said, because the June stopgap money was used for last year’s expenses, the $93.4 million from the Senate plan would be SIU’s only state funding for the current year, compared with $199.6 million for the 2014-15 school year.

And the same goes for the other schools. They’re gonna wind up being about a billion short, I think. But they should go back to “normal” next fiscal year. If, that is, the governor and legislators can come to some sort of agreement.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 11:15 am

Comments

Gotta love this state’s commitment to higher education.

Comment by PublicServant Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 11:18 am
I been through up to 50% wage cuts in my life. Back to “normal” does not happen overnight.. or even in the next “fiscal” year.

Comment by Anon221 Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 11:21 am
A billion short in Higher Ed is something that has a lasting effect.

Even if/when they correct the shortfall by getting everything to adequate levels and getting caught up with past billing and such, the image of Illinois’ Higher Ed will be “we think they fixed all the funding nonsense, but next year, another budget… ”

When a letter was written by an Illinois university explaining they will “stay open” (as if a question like that is commonplace and ordinary) is the hallmark of the Rauner Administration’s commitment to Higher Ed, how can a family see Illinois Higher Ed as elite or even under consideration if we’re being honest.

Governors don’t close universities, governors fund and grow universities to help their state grow.

This is another, “it should never have gotten to this”.

That’s a billion, with a “B”… short. If that all works out.

Speaks to the purposeful wrecking of a state, until it goes “too far”, then the “band-aids” begin to be placed, but the wound continues to fester.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 11:26 am
OW- That’s if you (unis, local communities, etc.) can afford the “band-aid” in the first place.

Comment by Anon221 Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 11:32 am
- Anon221 -

Great, now you just blew up my whole theory, LOL!

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 11:40 am
OW- Well, we could organize a Band-Aide “band-aid” concert to try and fill in the gaps;)

Comment by Anon221 Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 11:43 am
Combine that huge hole in FY 16 to the lack of deferred maintenance funding that universities have been dealing with for years. Some universities are one big emergency away from being out of money.
The damage being done will take much longer to repair that the funding level currently being proposed.

Comment by Because I Said So.... Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 11:44 am
One day it’s: OMG There are no cuts
The next day it’s: OMG there are cuts

Comment by Michelle Flaherty Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 11:47 am
Michelle Flaherty - “The next day it’s: OMG there are cuts”

If these cuts weren’t 30 to 50%, you would have a point.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 12:26 pm
I just left a big box store. One checker to another, “i was thinking of going to carbondale, but i heard they were going to close.”

There are direct effects of cuts and delays, and there are indirect, but still heavily damiging, effects like this.

Comment by Langhorne Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 12:28 pm
Anon 221

Or we could just tax ourselves at levels appropriate to our agreed-upon needs.

Comment by HistProf Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 12:33 pm
===you would have a point.===

Breaking my rule of responding to anonymous commneters, but the point is valid. Democrats have been accused of only wanted to raise taxes. What we saw in 2010 when the 5% rate was in effect was a series of spending cuts across many areas of the state budget, medicaid, higher education, etc. Democrats cutting spending and raising revenue to pay for pensions and reduce the backlog of unpaid bills that accumulated during the recession.

Revenue AND spending cuts. That’s the future. The Democrats in Springfield have a proven track record. The Republicans? They’re opposed to revenue and spending cuts apparently, but it’s hard to tell.

This Senate plan, such that it is, is the first heavy lift of Christine Radogno’s tenure. It’s the first time the members of her caucus will be asked to do some concrete too. The lazy days of making symbolic votes and hyperbolic speeches are coming to a close. SGOPs are going to finally earn their paychecks.

And I say bravo Senator Radogno. This is good work. You should be proud of this. This is what leadership looks like.

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 12:39 pm
Michelle Flahtery & Anon
Michelle Flaherty - “The next day it’s: OMG there are cuts”
“If these cuts weren’t 30 to 50%, you would have a point
Not only that - but the 30-50% cuts for some of the universities are based on 2015 funding…at this point tunicates wont even work. People are leaving IL in droves so I fear there is no more “normal.”

Comment by commprof Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 12:45 pm
HistProf- Agreed. My “fundraiser” idea was (I guess) a poor attempt at humor. We need to get to that agreed-upon spot soon, and I don’t think we can do it by waiting Rauner out. His SOTS tomorrow has the possibility of being very revealing as to what his level of “gleefulness” is. Are AFSCME and Madigan still his “game” of choice, or is he finally going to join the big people’s table and stop passing notes back and forth to IPI and Co.?

Comment by Anon221 Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 12:51 pm
Here’s the real legacy of squeeze-the-beast. Even if you get back on track, you end up chasing it, making up from when you got whacked.

By necessity, the exploding, historic backlog of bills will require a lower baseline.

Mission accomplished.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 1:10 pm
===Agreed. My “fundraiser” idea was (I guess) a poor attempt at humor===

It was fine.

What isn’t funny is the continued diminishing of Higher Ed in Illinois and passively defunding state universities, and finding that a billion dollar less in funding is real, and not a joke.

OW

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 1:11 pm
Well, it apparently is bipartisan. Which says a lot.

Comment by Federalist Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 1:18 pm
This plan doesn’t make up for the damage done by Rauner, but would at least get higher ed back on some sort of sustainable track. I’m wary of a sort of Stockholm Syndrome settling in here (thanks, Springfield, for that $1 billion cut!) but I suspect most in higher education would gladly take this plan, so long as (a) people don’t forget we got hammered for two years and (b) the bottom line budget going forward is indeed at the 2015 level. (b) is crucial if universities are to begin to recover–keep in mind that it’s not asking for an increase to make us right, just an exemption from further cuts (at least for a few years) in an effort to stop the bleeding.

This of course abstracts from other elements of the plan, like pension cuts, but one topic at a time. And I think the leaders in the state senate are, well, doing some leading, which is more than the governor or speaker have done for the last two years.

Comment by Doc Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 1:24 pm
Any Democrat who capitulates this this nonsense should be ashamed. You are letting yourself get baited to exactly the kind of draconian cuts Rauner wants and you’re putting your own name on it. Wake up.

Comment by Signal and Noise Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 1:30 pm
@ Federalist. You are correct. This is a bipartisan travesty. Democrats have cut funding to higher ed each year since about 2002. Rauner has just really exacerbated the problem.

Comment by Scamp640 Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 2:43 pm
No budget and IMSA is handing out raises and promotions. Community colleges offers the same courses. IMSA is no longer needed. They are not monitored and seem top get away with doing whatever they want. Waste of state funds. Everyone is just hanging on wanting to add to their pensions. Fiscal irresponsibility at it’s best. The president makes 300k a year and is never there.

Comment by Keeping It Real Tuesday, Jan 24, 17 @ 4:11 pm