Professors union gathers against budget cuts

   A forum on the proposed Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act, hosted by United University Professions in the Campus Center on Thursday, was spirited and friendly, but members of the union argued that the legislation could have grave consequences for students and their institutions

   UUP President Phillip Smith, a professor at SUNY Upstate Medical University, laid out the union's stance opposing the bill. Smith also introduced Frank Mauro, director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, who discussed cost-saving and revenue alternatives that could prevent the need for more cuts to SUNY's budget.

   Provisions within the Empowerment Act would allow SUNY to enter contracts with private entities with no oversight from the Legislature, Smith said. Previous attempts at these agreements — notably the biotechnology center at SUNY Farmingdale — have resulted in millions of dollars in lost revenue, he said.      
 

  SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and Gov. David Paterson are pushing the Empowerment Act as a way for SUNY to generate revenue on its own and to free the system from the state budget process. Last year, the state Legislature raised tuition by $620 yearly, with the majority of that increase going to help close the state budget gap.

   Other provisions in the Act would remove state appropriations for tuition, and allow universities to deposit tuition funds outside the state treasury—a prospect that raised eyebrows amongst forum attendees when reminded of the instability of banks in the current economic climate. Additionally, the state comptroller and attorney general would no longer have to authorize contracts for services.

   UUP is also concerned about provisions in the legislation that would allow SUNY schools to set its own tuition rates. Though a standard formula for raising tuition (two-and-a-half times the five-year rolling average of the Higher Education Pricing Index) exists, universities would be able to raise tuition by about 10 percent yearly, a tuition plan Smith decries as "neither rational nor predictable."

   The burden for funding SUNY would be shifted away from New York State and onto students, Smith said. Although the UUP's primary concern is for the welfare of its members, Smith sought to highlight a need for solidarity with the student body.

   Smith acknowledged the continuing budget crisis threatening the university and stated that though they oppose the Empowerment Act, the UUP is not "defending the status quo," but the concerned union does not want to shut the door on the New York State Legislature's involvement and funding.

   He said that the current legislation was "written in the dark of night" without UUP's input. UUP finds the bill to be unacceptable as a total package, and as Candace Merbler, President of UUP's Albany Chapter, said it's "too late for compromise."

   Keeping a productive edge to the forum, Frank Mauro presented cost-saving and revenue-raising alternatives to cutting SUNY's budget — which still faces a $118 million cut over the next year. Proposals include supporting federal government initiatives to provide states with further fiscal relief, adding a temporary "$1 million bracket" to state taxes that could be worth $1 billion in tax money, adopting taxes on soda or plastic bags and reducing the contracting of private consultants (worth about $200 million a year in savings.)

   In all, Mauro presented attendees with 25 ways the state could raise revenue or cut costs without cutting SUNY's budget.

   Although SUNY funding is shy of five percent of the state budget, it has accounted for 40 percent of the recent cuts across all state agencies. With this fiscal year's reduced funding, the university is receiving $85 million less from the state than it did 20 years ago. Smith fears that SUNY continues to take so much of the brunt of government spending reductions because it's a "soft target."

   With the state attempting to close the estimated $8.1 million budget gap for 2010-2011, there are fears that jobs may be jeopardized and the costs for students may go up.

   "SUNY has taken more than its fair share of cuts," Merbler said.