YSU will feel the effects of state's budget crisis

Even though tapping into the state's $1 billion rainy day fund to make up for the projected $600 million revenue shortfall in the general fund budget is a temporary solution to Ohio's fiscal crisis, it seems to be the only prudent course for Gov. Bob Taft and the Republican controlled General Assembly to take if they want to avoid bringing state government to its knees.
As Dr. David Sweet, president of Youngstown State University, commented last week on YSU's possible loss of $2.9 million if Taft cuts the budget by 6 percent: "If we don't have rain going on as we speak in the context of our budget, I don't know when we will ever have."
Stormy days: The "rain" could become a downpour if the governor and the legislature fail to come up with new revenue to pay the $2.5 billion cost of implementing an Ohio Supreme Court ruling designed to end the disparity in state funding for public primary and secondary schools.
Just finding a way to pay the $2.5 billion tab without raising taxes is a monumental challenge facing Taft and his Republican colleagues in the House and Senate. The $600 million shortfall in the state budget that the governor announced recently makes the situation even more dangerous and thus prompts the question: Is it good management to require state agencies to cut so deeply into their operating budgets that they are crippled in the performance of their duties?
We don't think so.
Enrollment: When a university like YSU, which has finally reversed its 10-year decline in enrollment and has embarked on a program to overcome long-standing financial problems, must suddenly confront the loss of $2.9 million in state funding, that isn't good management on the part of the governor and legislature.
Higher education in Ohio already took a major hit in the current biennium budget because primary and secondary education claimed the biggest slice of the state's general fund. Colleges and universities, including YSU, were forced to increase tuition and to adopt cost-saving measures.
Now, however, the state's public universities and colleges are being warned that they will have to absorb more than $100 million in cuts. Ohio State University is expected to lose $18 million while Ohio University will be short $6.4 million.
As we noted in an editorial last week about the state's fiscal crisis, next year's statewide election must not influence the actions of the governor and the legislature.