Vargas: Southeast faces $4.4M cut in state funding

Southeast Missouri State University would see a $4.4 million cut in state funding for fiscal year 2018 under Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens' proposed budget, according to university president Carlos Vargas-Aburto.

The governor has recommended a 9 percent reduction in the base budget appropriation for Southeast, Vargas wrote in an email to faculty, staff and students on Friday.

Under the governor's proposal, Southeast would receive $44.8 million in state funding for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The proposed funding cuts for Southeast are part of Greitens' plan to cut about $159 million in state aid for Missouri's public colleges and universities.

State Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, R-Jackson, objected to such large cuts to higher education.

Rep. Donna Lichtenegger

Public colleges and universities already have tightened their belts, she said.

"You can't take that much more out and not expect them to raise tuition," said Lichtenegger, who chairs the House committee on higher education.

The governor's proposed funding cuts are an obstacle to job growth, she said.

Colleges are "the economic and workforce engine of the state," Lichtenegger said.

Lichtenegger said she will seek to reduce the cuts during the appropriation process in the House.

Rep. Rick Francis

But state Rep. Rick Francis, R-Perryville, suggested colleges can trim spending without raising tuition.

"I wish they would take a look internally at operations," he said.

The comments from Francis come on the heels of remarks last week by Greitens that colleges need to "tighten their belts" and operate more efficiently.

Francis said Southeast has benefited from significant state funding over the years.

"They have done pretty well," he said.

Rep. Kathy Swan

State Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, said education is one of the few areas of state spending lawmakers and the governor can cut to craft a balanced budget in tough economic times.

She said it puts colleges in "a tough spot."

Swan said she would prefer smaller cuts for higher education but doesn't see how that is feasible.

Labor is a major expense for any college, she said. Reducing labor costs may be one way to trim expenses, Swan said.

Colleges would have to seek waivers to exceed the state cap on tuition increases, she said. A 2007 Missouri law prohibits state schools from raising tuition and general fees more than the increase in the consumer price index each year.

Southeast has not made decision whether to ask for such a waiver, school spokeswoman Ann Hayes said.

The university already was coping with withholding of about $3.5 million in state funding for the current fiscal year as a result of lagging state revenue.

Vargas said school officials have agreed on measures to address the funding cut for this fiscal year.

Those measures include delaying the filling of non-faculty positions by four months, reallocating balances in various funds, freezing a request for review of reclassification and/or promotion for non-faculty positions, using residual funds from various activities/initiatives and "capturing revenue from items exceeding the budget," according to Chris Martin, assistant to the president for strategy and government relations.

The last item involves additional revenue generated by a variety of fees, including transcript and application fees, above what was projected, Martin said.

No decisions have been made on how to address fiscal 2018 budget cuts. Southeast's budget review committee has begun reviewing the school's financial situation, Vargas said.

The president wrote in Friday's email the university faces "some significant challenges."

"We will immediately begin exploring possible revenue enhancements and expense reductions to work on balancing our budget," he wrote.

He added, "Despite the budget challenges ahead, we will continue to focus on our campus goals -- improving our retention and six-year graduation rates and increasing enrollment, goals which are revenue enhancing."

Vargas said in the email the governor has a responsibility to produce a balanced state budget; "however, these cuts to higher education will challenge our efforts to keep a college education as affordable as possible and as accessible to as many students as possible."

mbliss@semissourian.com

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