Former Chancellor O’Keefe elected to Loyola Board of Trustees, p. 3 Students flock to Halo video game midnight release, p. 4
Reveille The Daily
Volume 115, Issue 16
www.lsureveille.com
Defense leads the nation with 10 sacks in 2 games, p. 7 Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2010
Construction continues despite cuts
Matthew Albright Staff Writer
graphic by STEPHANIE GIGLIO / The Daily Reveille
As the University struggles to deal with budget cuts, laying off faculty and cutting services, new construction throughout campus may have some students scratching their heads. The construction may seem inappropriate, but administrators say there are reasons the construction continues despite cutbacks. “The fact is these projects come from a different pot of money,” said Paul Favaloro, director of resources at Facility Services.
Favaloro says the most expensive construction projects on campus — those costing more than $500,000 — are funded through capital outlay, money flowing directly from the state. Political realities and legislative structural hurdles mean the money that goes to capital outlay will always go to capital outlay, according to Jason Droddy, director of External Affairs. “Could the Legislature use some capital funds for the operating budget? There are some significant obstacles that would have to be overcome before capital funds could
be used for operating, and in the end, it’s not much to speak of,” Droddy said. Droddy also said the University has to use capital outlay money for the specific projects for which the money is dedicated by law, or the money will go elsewhere. “It’s like a coupon. It counts as real money, but it isn’t really because you have to spend it for something specific,” he said. Droddy cited construction on the Student Union as an example. “If we wanted to stop CONSTRUCTION, see page 15
Facility Services struggling with cuts Matthew Albright Staff Writer
Students will start seeing less day-to-day maintenance and slower response times as budget cuts to Facility Services, the campus organization responsible for the University’s upkeep, manifest. “So far, the impacts have been horizontal — taken a little bit everywhere,” said Tony Lombardo, interim assistant vice chancellor for Facility Services. “You start seeing the aging process accelerating.” Lombardo says the department has faced about $3 million in cuts since Hurricane Katrina. That translates into about 70 lost positions – while most of those lost are vacant positions left unfilled, the department had to let nine employees go in January. Those mostly included field staff, but some lower administrative personnel were let go, as well. As Facility Services continues to lose money and staff, projects administrators would like to complete remain unfunded. As those projects remain unfunded, they fall further into disrepair, making them more expensive. Lombardo said continued funding losses could mean students will start seeing problems. While students may not be able
to point to specific buildings on campus that are falling into disrepair, Lombardo says future cuts could conceivably mean increasingly obvious decay. That could happen as early as next year when the University will have to deal with cuts as high as $73.5 million. “That’s when you’ll really start to see problems,” Lombardo said. Paul Favaloro, director of Resource Services, said students will start to see daily sustainability efforts, like custodial and landscaping work, start to dwindle. “[The University] is a big city, and it’s going to get harder to take care of it,” he said. Buildings and restrooms will be cleaned less frequently. The trees, bushes, and grass will be trimmed less regularly. “We’re not going to let the Parade Ground turn into a jungle
HILARY SCHEINUK / The Daily Reveille
— although other parts of campus may,” Favaloro said. Favaloro also said his department will be able to respond less quickly to breakdowns in equipment. For example, if the air conditioning in a classroom is defunct, workers may take longer to fix the problem. Deferred maintenance is part of the growing list of construction and repair projects the University has put off for lack of funds. The list currently stands at $375 million, according to Emmett David, director of Facility Development. The state gives the University funds annually to do some of the work on the list, but David says those funds are woefully inadequate. For example — the Legislature most recently allotted $8 million, which doesn’t even make up for inflation UPKEEP, see page 15
MELANIE CASCIO / The Daily Reveille
[Left] Grass is overrun by weeds outside Allen Hall. [Right] A neglected window along the side of the Art Building is peeling and cracked. Because of budget cuts, Facility Services won’t be able to continue timely upkeep of areas like these.