Daily Egyptian THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2016
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
VOL. 100 ISSUE 54
SINCE 1916
Dunn asks university officials to draft cut plans, says SIU is in ‘fiscal triage mode’
BILL LUKITSCH | @Bill_LukitschDE
Brace for another large cut to public higher education in Illinois. SIU President Randy Dunn has called on administrators to draft plans to fill a $100 million budget hole after proposed cuts by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner
in fiscal years 2016 and 2017. Dunn on Wednesday informed university employees of impending cuts via email. Budget staff from across the university system met in Edwardsville on Monday to expand spending reductions made last year — 8 percent or $13.5 million — that
would “minimally cover the estimated aggregate loss of state support,” Dunn said in the email. SIUC would lose the largest share — about $25.4 million. The School of Medicine would lose $9.3 million, SIUEdwardsville $14.2 million and almost
An eye on the high line
$900,000 would be cut from system expenses. Public universities in the state have still received no appropriation since July as the historic Illinois budget impasse has breached nearly three-quarters of a calendar year. Please see CUTS | 2
Effects of budget impasse ‘will bleed Illinois of its future,’ SIU provost says ANNA SPOERRE | @AnnaSpoerre
Aidan Osborne | @AidanOsborne_DE Sam Rogers, a sophomore from Zion studying outdoor recreation, attempts to stabilize himself on a highline Monday between Baldwin and Abbot Hall. Rogers set up the highline to test the new equipment he purchased that will keep him from hitting the ground. Highlining, like slacklining, is when a length of rope or webbing is stretched between two trees and then the participant balances as he or she walks arcross. According to Rogers, the difference is slacklines are usually set a foot or two off the ground, while highlines are set around 10 to 12 feet off the ground. “Highlining is fun because you get better vantage points,” Rogers said. “Plus, going across lakes and canyons is more fun.”
SIU is still waiting on state reimbursement of money spent to fund Monetary Award Program grants in the 2016 fiscal year. There is no guarantee the university will receive this money after a nearly nine-month long budget stalemate between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic legislators. After fronting the money to pay for roughly 4,700 students’ MAP grants last fall and this spring, SIU is short an additional $11,495,763 — the sum of grants to assist those who would otherwise have difficulties paying college costs. This negative balance is normal because the state usually does not pay the universities until the end of the semester, said Judy Marshall, executive director for university finance. However, she said the pending reimbursement has never been this large. “These are unprecedented times with the situation with the state funding,” Marshall said. “We don’t have any history to refer to in terms of how this is all going to unfold.” Marshall said the university does not have a reserve fund specifically for situations like this because the state has strict rules limiting how much cash public universities can accumulate. Please see MAP | 2
Legislation would allow SIU to sell real estate for scholarships BILL LUKTSCH | @Bill_LukitschDE
University officials want to lease or sell land owned by SIU for future student aid scholarships. Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, introduced legislation in the Illinois Senate last week that would allow the university to sell surplus property and deposit the profits in a scholarship fund for student aid. It effectively bypasses the State Property Control Act, which would otherwise mandate the public university turn over any surplus property to the state. The parcels of land are of varying acreage and span across the southern Illinois region. Most of the properties under consideration have been owned by the university “a number of years” and are either unused or rarely used for research purposes, said Kevin Bame, SIU’s vice chancellor for administration and finance. “The administration will be evaluating how we use the
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property and if the legislation is passed, we will look at getting an appraisal on that property to find out what the fair market value is,” Bame said. Bame could not detail the approximate value of the land SIU is considering selling because all of it is tax-exempt and has not been appraised in years. Some of the properties were purchased, but a majority were acquired through estates, he said. How the scholarship aid would be disbursed to students is also unclear as the legislation is still in its beginning stages. If Senate Bill 2790 passes the Democratic-led General Assembly and is signed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, the university would take the next logical steps to review which parcels should be liquidated and have the land appraised, Bame said. Any recommendations by the university must be approved by the SIU Board of Trustees and it is too early to tell whether
the university would prefer to lease or sell the land for immediate profits. “I think it might be in the interest of the university to maximize cash flow in the near-term than it would be to lease it on a long term, but it depends on the type of property we’re looking at,” Bame said. Bame said the legislative move is not a response to the Illinois budget impasse, but rather the university’s “desire to have scholarship funds available to [its] students.” “If we can convert the value of the land into a scholarship fund, I think that would be the most advantageous position for the university to be in,” Bame said. “It’s a win-win in my eyes.” Bill Lukitsch can be reached at blukitsch@dailyegyptian.com or (618)-536-3329.