The Washington state Legislature recently completed its budget and adjourned, providing Washington State University with $429.5 million in operating funds.
The operating budget allocation will:
• increase faculty salaries Sept. 1
• cut noninstructional programs by $2.1 million
• provide funding for 905 new full-time students to the WSU system
• begin funding four-year programs at WSU Vancouver and WSU Tri-Cities
• add $1.5 million for veterinary medicine
• increase student tuition up to 7 percent
“Given the fiscal position of the state, the Legislature did well in addressing some of our most pressing needs,” said Karl Boehmke, executive director of planning and budget, in his analysis of the budget. “Salary increases were funded, our burgeoning enrollments were recognized with additional resources and provisions were made to take our regional campuses to the next phase of development.”
Salary increases
For the first time in several years, the state Legislature funded salary increases at WSU. Here’s how the operating funds were earmarked:
• Faculty, administrative/professional staff and graduate assistants. The state, through its new biennial budget, has funded salary increases averaging 3.2 percent starting Sept. 1, 2005, and averaging 1.6 percent starting Sept. 1, 2006.
“We currently are doing a full analysis of the budget, but intend to follow through with our pledge to add some money to the salary pool,” said Boehmke. “We should have some proposed numbers on that in the next few weeks. Rules for salary increases prescribed in the Faculty Manual and the A/P Manual will apply.”
• Non-represented classified employees. A permanent salary increase of 3.2 percent on Sept. 1, 2005 is funded, along with a 1.6 percent increase for the period of Sept. 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007. State regulations do not allow the university to exceed these increase amounts. These increases are for classified employees who are in classifications that are not represented in collective bargaining. This will include employees that were formerly in Bargaining Units 2 (nonsupervisors), 9 and 10. On April 26, 2005, the union disclaimed interest in these groups.
• Represented classified employees – Police, Bargaining Unit #4. Salary increases of 3.2 percent on July 1, 2005 and a 2.9 percent lump sum payment on July 1, 2006 are provided for employees in Bargaining Unit #4, representing police positions.
• Represented classified employees — Bargaining Units 1, 5 and 11. Salary increases of 3.2 percent on July 1, 2005 and a 2 percent lump sum payment on July 1, 2006 are funded in the state budget for employees covered by collective bargaining in unit 1, research and extension units west of the Cascades; bargaining unit 5, library; and bargaining unit 11, Intercollegiate College of Nursing/WSU College of Nursing, under the personnel system reform act of 2002. However, before a salary increase can be provided to employees in these bargaining units, the contract that was bargained needs to be modified to address the change in the units to be covered by the contract.
Lacking a signed collective bargaining agreement, salary increases cannot be given to individuals in these units. In addition, no action can be taken with respect to the employees in Bargaining Unit #5 pending the outcome of the decertification process begun by employees in that unit.
• Represented classified employees — Bargaining Units 2 (supervisors in the unit) and 3 (crafts and trades). No salary increases were funded in the budget for classified employees in these collective bargaining units.
The price tag for all the above salary increases is $14.3 million, Boehmke said.
WSU received an additional $11.2 million to cover changes in health benefit costs to maintain current benefits.
Noninstructional cut
The final budget called for $2.7 million to be taken back or “clawed back” from WSU’s tuition increase to be paid by resident students.
The budget also offers a $70 million increase in student financial aid statewide.
The greatest disappointment for higher education advocates was the retention of a 1 percent or $2.1 million cut to so-called noninstructional programs. This will adversely impact existing WSU budgets in research, extension, libraries, student services, academic support, physical plant and administration.
Death tax funds enrollment
The Legislature also created a controversial inheritance or “death tax” dedicated to higher education enrollments. The tax, which targets estates of $1.5 million and larger, passed the House 50-48. The tax will provide $9.6 million to WSU for enrollment.
WSU Vancouver received funding to begin admitting 200 freshman and sophomore students. The budget explicitly provides $6,303 per student for each of those 200 lower-division students. The budget also provides $350,000 to start up the new programs for freshmen and sophomores.
WSU Tri-Cities received authority to begin admitting freshmen and sophomores in biotechnology with approval from the Higher Education Coordinating Board. The compromise budget provides 25 lower-division student slots for WSU Tri-Cities.
WSU Vancouver will receive 125 additional upper-division students at $10,000 per student.
There was relatively little controversy over the student tuition increase as both the House and Senate recommended a 7 percent hike.
No high-demand enrollment was funded for four-year institutions.
The improved per-student funding, however, came with some conditions. The Legislature noted that it wants to see demonstrable progress toward achieving goals that:
• Reduce the time required to earn a degree
• Preserve access to low-income students
• Improve freshman retention rates
• Improve number of ranked programs
• Improve ranking of federal research grants funded
• Improve job placement or graduate school acceptance
Veterinary, research funding
The budget provides $1.5 million of the $2 million that WSU requested to help offset the withdrawal of students from Oregon State University.
While UW and WSU did receive some specialized funding for research in the budget, there were no appropriations for more general research that the universities had recommended.
WSU will receive $400,000 for research to combat “ghost shrimp” in Willapa Bay. Ghost shrimp have undermined oyster farming on the bay that contributes tens of millions of dollars to the economy.
Funding also was provided for a vehicle licensing study (House Bill 1241) and a renewable energy expert (Substitute Senate Bill 5101).
There is language in the budget urging WSU to reallocate agricultural research dollars to organic farming and precision agriculture, but there was no new funding provided.
Gov. Christine Gregoire’s proposal for a Life Sciences Discovery Fund to benefit research projects at universities and in the private sector and to allow funding of cloning or stem cell research was approved 25-24.
Capital budget
Although the university’s top capital budget item — a $57.1 million Biotechnology/Life Sciences Building in Pullman — failed to gain legislative approval, the state did provide funding for several other major projects, including:
• $114 million for projects in Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver and Prosser.
• $31.6 million for construction of the Riverpoint Nursing Building
• $13.1 million for WSU’s second priority construction project, the Tri-Cities Bioproducts Building. Construction should begin this fall. The building is a joint project with Battelle’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. State funding for the building is expected to leverage up to $11.6 million in federal funding, leading to construction of a $24 million building.
• No funding was provided for the Pullman wastewater facility or any other major construction projects for Pullman.
• $6 million for minor capital improvements.
• $30.5 million for preservation projects.
• $2 million for health and safety.
• $7 million for equipment.
• $10.6 million for the next major building at WSU Vancouver, the student services center.
• Funding for pre-design and design projects for Vancouver, including an undergraduate classroom building, and predesign of an Applied Technology and Classroom building that could be constructed in 2009-2011.
• $2.8 million for Phase 2 of a building at WSU Prosser.
