YSU's financial woes demand public debate

During the general election campaign, Tim Hagan, the Democratic nominee for governor, took Republican Gov. Bob Taft to task for higher education's financial dilemma caused, in large part, by cuts in state funding for Ohio's public universities and colleges. Hagan argued that students were being forced to bear the brunt of the reductions through increases in tuition. Such increases, the Cleveland Democrat contended, were dissuading many from attending college.
The argument struck a responsive chord with the voters, especially those in urban areas, and prompted Taft to not only pledge to work with the Republican-controlled General Assembly to increase funding for higher education, but also to push for a restoration of caps on tuition.
The Legislature had removed the caps at the behest of university presidents, but with the ever increasing cost of attending two-year and four-year institutions, there is growing support in Columbus for such cost-containment initiatives. Indeed, some Democrats in the House and Senate are demanding a freeze in tuition for two-year institutions as a price for their support of a GOP proposal to allow racetracks in Ohio to have video slot machines.
We offer the Nov. 5 general election, in which Taft scored a landslide victory in his bid for a second four-year term, as context for last week's announcement by David Sweet, president of Youngstown State University, that an $8.1 million budget deficit for the 2003-04 fiscal year looms large.
A tuition increase of 12 percent for next fall semester is certainly within the realm of possibilities, Sweet said. But even with such a huge increase, the university's operating budget would be dripping red ink.
Students were forced to pay 8.9 percent more for the current semester and absorbed tuition increases of 5.1 percent and 5.5 percent last fall and spring, respectively.
Recovery plan
But given Taft's pledge to push for tuition caps, Sweet and his financial advisers would do well to develop a budget recovery plan that does not assume a tuition increase of 12 percent or even 8 percent. A 6 percent cap may be imposed for YSU. In addition, Sweet and the board of trustees should not bank on the governor's being swayed by the argument that the university's financial condition justifies increasing tuition by more than 6 percent.
During the election, Taft bristled at the charge from Hagan and some university presidents that he and the General Assembly had turned their backs on higher education in Ohio. He argued that even with the 8 percent cut in funding this year, the state spends 10 percent more on universities and colleges than it did four years ago.
As for Youngstown State, the governor did little to hide his displeasure at the decision by the board of trustees to grant generous three-year contracts to the faculty, classified employees, professional staff and police, and pay raises for top administrators, including the president.
The cost of salaries and benefits is slated to rise from $80.5 million in 2003 to $84.8 million in 2004.
Recently, we praised Sweet for saying that he would not ask the trustees to approve a tuition increase for the spring semester, given that YSU expects to receive some relief from the Ohio Board of Regents with regard to its budget allocation. That good news was short-lived.
Given the uncertainties surrounding higher education funding in Ohio, we believe the time has come for a public discussion about YSU's financial condition. Prior to putting their hands into students' pockets, Sweet and the board of trustees must show that all the fat in the operating budget has been cut and that unnecessary or luxury programs have been eliminated. In addition, they must publicly address the issue of the labor contracts and explain why it is not feasible to ask the faculty, classified employees, professional staff and police to give up the pay raises they are to receive in the second and third years of the agreement.
Taking the lead
In addition, the trustees should ask Sweet to take the lead in giving back the pay raise and other increased compensation they approved for him. In turn, the president should ask his administrators to give up their pay raises.
Only then can the university make the case for increasing tuition next fall.
Without this sharing of pain, the governor would be hard-pressed to use the power of his office to lobby for YSU. Taft has a proven track record of helping the Mahoning Valley, but he will not let himself to be put in a position where he appears to be supporting the enrichment on one group -- YSU's employees -- at the expense of another -- the students and taxpayers.