Saturday, January 31, 2009

Education on the cheep

The word of the week: furlough! What does every employee at ASU have to take at least two weeks of? Furlough! The hell is furlough? An unpaid vacation! Fortunately we live in a state that values education and would do all it can to protect this most precious of investments.
*THIS JUST IN*
TEMPE, Ariz. – The options proposed by the state legislature today would cut the university system’s budget by up to $243 million for the remaining few months of fiscal year 2009 and $388 million for fiscal year 2010. This would be the largest higher education budget reduction in the state’s history. Cuts of this magnitude would require Arizona State University to reduce costs by up to $126 million in less than five months and $194 million next fiscal year.

Perhaps I spoke too soon. What this boils down to (for ASU) is a 35 percent reduction of the 2009 state General Fund budget that is remaining for the year and when the proposed 2010 cuts are added, it totals 40 percent of the university’s state General Fund appropriation in 2008 on a Full-time Equivalent (either a full-time student or its equivalent of two part-time students) basis. Let me restate that using bigger words: THE STATE WANTS US TO CUT 35% OF OUR BUDGET OVER THE LAST 5 MONTHS OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

The legislature has also used the argument that ASU is unwilling to make cuts when in fact ASU has already:
*taken more than $37 million in state funding cuts
*eliminated a total of 550 staff positions and 200 faculty associate positions.
*disestablished schools and merged academic departments while managing to preserve academic quality.

Here's the cherry on top. The proposed budget cut would take student funding at ASU back about 20 years, from $8,111 per full-time student (or equivalent) in 2008 to $4,902 for 2010, which is lower than the $5,017 ASU received in 1989. Yes, you read that right. Students attending ASU in 2010 would receive less funding than those who attended in 1989 and THAT'S NOT ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION! Think all those Fulbright and National Merit Scholars will keep flocking to ASU?

Hopefully all these things are incendiary enough to spur the population as a whole into action. Education is an investment. It's a tool. It's a starting point not an end point. It's not a political club to be wielded as one might a sledgehammer when demolishing a house. But that is precisely what this legislature and the men introducing this budget are doing. Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills and Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa are destroying the educational house that Arizona's residents, universities, and students have spent decades building.

UPDATE: The proposed budget has become the actual budget. Gov. Brewer signs budget...

3 comments:

RiCap said...

ahh budget cuts. I've seen them around alot lately. Hoping I'll also see the raises when we get to the other side.

Sarah said...

In Denver, they say the only safe sectors to be in, in terms of financial stability in this economy, are healthcare and education. Yet another reason to move to Denver...as if you needed any more!

juha said...

If Denver were a woman, I would be way too busy smooching with her to write this blog.

And then, when were apart we'd text each other about all the sexy things we're gonna do when we see each other again, like play Scrabble and watch Corner Gas!

I'm falling in love?