Regents approve cuts as colleges wonder about future

Brandon Larrabee, Morris News Service

October 16, 2008

The state Board of Regents approved a plan Tuesday slashing campus budgets by 6 percent even as university officials wondered whether the nation's darkening economic outlook could trigger even deeper cuts.

Campuses and budget observers had expected the board's move following an August vote to cut the University System of Georgia's overall spending plan. But Tuesday's action marked the first time regents have voted on specific budget cuts for each of the system's 35 colleges and universities.

Essentially, the board adopted in their entirety plans for slicing campus budgets by 5 percent. Those plans had been submitted by college presidents earlier this summer, when the state expected a smaller budget cut and Chancellor Erroll Davis wanted plans that would give regents the option of picking and choosing from among the proposed reductions.

The board also approved a plan to level out the employer's share of the premium for some of its higher-scale health-care programs, bringing down the cost for the most expensive package.

The campus-specific cuts include broad moves to hold open unfilled staff positions, trim police officers and provide fewer opportunities for students to take some courses.

The University of Georgia, for instance, will slash seven positions from its police department, a cut of 10 percent that would "jeopardize the UGAPD's ability to meet the basic safety and security needs of the UGA community," according to its proposal.

The newly-renamed College of Coastal Georgia's proposal is more vague, promising only a restructuring of the public safety department that would save $60,000 a year. But college leaders are still concerned.

Augusta State University would delay a $30,000-a-year plan to hire part-time security guards to handle basic tasks like opening and closing buildings around campus.

Many campuses have already begun to take the steps they outlined, said Tim Burgess, senior vice president for finance and administration at the University of Georgia.

"By the first of August, we were sitting there with the essence of the plan that's now been approved in place," Burgess said.

He said hundreds of currently unfilled positions would remain open. UGA's plan also anticipates declining to fill some jobs that will open up because of retirements.

Bill Megathlin, assistant to the president at Armstrong Atlantic State University, said his school is also holding some positions open but has so far avoided layoffs.

"All of it's painful," he said. "But I guess we're hopeful that the 6 percent will be the bottom."

Regents are also planning for cuts of 8 and 10 percent, which state officials have indicated are possible if state revenues continue to decline after an upward spike in September that could be temporary.

Both Megathlin and Burgess said their institutions would have to consider layoffs if state officials opted for the larger cuts.

"The magnitude of getting to 10 percent is so large at this point that we've got all kinds of different options, none of them good," Burgess said. "And layoffs would probably have to be a part of that."

In a separate action, the board's Real Estate and Facilities Committee took a step that USG officials said will make it easier to get financing for construction projects despite the tough credit market.

Under the plan, the chairman of the committee would be allowed to approve increased rent for some public-private projects if more money is available to do so. Because the rent essentially covers the cost of a public-private project, that would drive up the entire cost of a particular facility.

But Linda Daniels, vice chancellor for facilities, said the authority would ensure that officials could move quickly on favorable terms in the volatile market. She said it could jump-start projects like a planned student center at Armstrong Atlantic, and that any increase approved under the new rules would be relatively minor.

"We are not talking about making dramatic changes to project pro forma," she said.

The change must still be approved by the full board at its meeting tomorrow, though it is exceedingly rare for the board to turn aside a recommendation from one of its committees.

CAMPUS REDUCTIONS
A look at some of the cuts the State Board of Regents approved Tuesday for individual colleges and universities:

• Georgia Tech: $13,789,822
• Medical College of Georgia: $9,973,882
• University of Georgia: $24,051,393
• Georgia Southern University: $6,003,287
• Armstrong Atlantic State University: $2,156,865
• Augusta State University: $1,874,834
• Savannah State University: $1,301,288
• College of Coastal Georgia: $712,945
• Waycross College: $278,195

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