$15 million added to OUS budget

The co-chairs of Oregon Ways and Means announced final state budget recommendations that would increase the entire Oregon University System budget by $15 million and would add $25 million to Oregon universities’ capital construction budget.

The co-chairs originally recommended in March to allocate $795 million to the Oregon University System (OUS), but their final May 15 recommendation increased that total to $810 million. They also recommended that the capital construction budget be increased to $81 million, up from the originally proposed $56 million.

The $810 million recommendation is only $17 million less than Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s original higher education budget proposal. The governor makes an initial proposal, which the Ways and Means Committee then adjusts for the state Legislature to alter or approve.

Kulongoski’s budget proposal included $420 million for public university capital construction projects, which was cut down to about $56 million after the co-chairs’ initial budget recommendations were announced on March 22.

Portland State could be hit particularly hard by the reduction, with renovation costs for Lincoln Hall and Science Building 2 exceeding $60 million.

PSU interim Director of Government Relations Dick Feeney, who attended the Salem meeting, said that some OUS staff say that the co-chairs’ budget still strays too far from Kulongoski’s recommended OUS budget. Representatives from OUS say more money could be returned to the state higher education budget, he said.

“Nobody is jumping all over, no one is tickled pink,” Feeney said. “We are obviously encouraged, but there’s not enough money added back to do all the things we asked for.”

On May 14, Feeney joined PSU President Daniel Bernstine and Debbie Murdock, assistant to the president, in addressing the co-chairs on the need to restore Kulongoski’s recommended budget level.

Feeney said representatives from OUS are currently compiling a list of capital construction projects that an increased budget could help fund, which will then be submitted to the co-chairs for review.

OUS officials and the co-chairs will also address concerns over other affected areas of the budget, according to Feeney. There was also some confusion over what parts of OUS some of the new allocations would fund, he said.

“There is not a complete understanding of what it meant by the numbers,” Feeney said about the specifics of the budget. “There is certainly progress, but the OUS is currently trying to find out what all those numbers mean.”

On May 14, Bernstine voiced concerns over deferred maintenance issues as well as restoring faculty salaries and balancing the student-to-teacher ratio in crowded classrooms, Feeney said.

Student body President Courtney Morse said that the increases to the OUS budget are a positive step for Oregon universities. She said she would still like to see additional funding for capital construction and funding that would save the state childcare services and college preparatory programs.

The Associated Students of Portland State University had close to 150 students call the state Legislature Tuesday, in a phone drive. Morse said she thinks that the lobbying at the state Capitol that ASPSU and other organizations have done over the past few months added to the increases.

Murdock, who is recovering from a stroke she suffered last November, received a warm welcome during their visit, Feeney said.

“Deb got a lot of attention,” he said. “There were all sorts of people coming up giving her lots of hugs and kisses–they’re very supportive and very aware that she is a sincere and hardworking rep for PSU. It was kind of a lobbyist’s dream.”

The co-chairs’ budget would also raise community college allocations by $37 million and the K-12 education budget by $10 million. The Ways and Means education subcommittee will review the co-chairs’ budget May 28.