2008 Woodie Awards
State spending up on jails, down on education
Government portion of the university budget at historical low
Heather Steeves
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: News
For every dollar of state funding invested into the University of Maine System (UMS), $8.10 goes back to Maine's economy, according to a UMS report.
Gov. John Baldacci asked to cut $7.1 million from UMS. Last week, the Maine Legislature's Appropriations Committee rejected this, and proposed a $4.1 million dollar cut from higher education funding.
The original cut would have taken $1.9 million from UMaine, the new proposal will take $266,618.
Tuition will rise because of these cuts. In a meeting Wednesday, Janet Waldron, the vice president of administration and finance, approximated the hike will be between 9.8 and 10.5 percent.
This could lead to the lowest percent of state funding the UMS has ever seen. In the 2006 fiscal year, 31 percent of funding came from the state. According to UMS Executive Director of External Affairs John Diamond, state funding used to be a lot higher. "It was higher than 50 percent if you go back 20 years," he said.
Thirty-one years ago, UMS schools received 15.2 percent of the state's general fund. This has declined to 6.5 percent for this year.
"We've got to impress upon people in that state that in a poor state like this, access to higher education is essential," Dean of Students Robert Dana said.
The University of Maine contributed a $680,768,159 impact in the economy in the 2006 fiscal year, according to an economic impact report released by UMS in 2007.
"The UMS, through its universities, students, visitors and affiliated organizations, creates a total economic benefit to Maine of more than $1.5 billion," the report said. "Maine taxpayers realize more than 800 percent return on their investment."
If the $4.1 million budget cut passes through the legislature, that could mean a $33,210,000 loss of benefits to Maine's economy, which some at the university believe could lead to more financial problems within the state government.
"It's primarily a result of the state's economic condition and the fact that state policy makers felt that they are facing competition for state funds and have shifted a lot of their funding as a result of that," Diamond said. "The state spends more on corrections than it used to on jails, prisons and department of corrections … They [legislatures] would probably say they really don't have any choice. The law says that people who violate the law need to be incarcerated, so in many ways it is a public safety issue."
Diamond said the chancellor, trustees and presidents of the universities feel that if there is increased funding for the universities, it will more than pay for itself in economic benefits for the state. He believes state representatives are having difficulty finding resources to fund UMS "in large part because of the slumping economy."
Gov. John Baldacci asked to cut $7.1 million from UMS. Last week, the Maine Legislature's Appropriations Committee rejected this, and proposed a $4.1 million dollar cut from higher education funding.
The original cut would have taken $1.9 million from UMaine, the new proposal will take $266,618.
Tuition will rise because of these cuts. In a meeting Wednesday, Janet Waldron, the vice president of administration and finance, approximated the hike will be between 9.8 and 10.5 percent.
This could lead to the lowest percent of state funding the UMS has ever seen. In the 2006 fiscal year, 31 percent of funding came from the state. According to UMS Executive Director of External Affairs John Diamond, state funding used to be a lot higher. "It was higher than 50 percent if you go back 20 years," he said.
Thirty-one years ago, UMS schools received 15.2 percent of the state's general fund. This has declined to 6.5 percent for this year.
"We've got to impress upon people in that state that in a poor state like this, access to higher education is essential," Dean of Students Robert Dana said.
The University of Maine contributed a $680,768,159 impact in the economy in the 2006 fiscal year, according to an economic impact report released by UMS in 2007.
"The UMS, through its universities, students, visitors and affiliated organizations, creates a total economic benefit to Maine of more than $1.5 billion," the report said. "Maine taxpayers realize more than 800 percent return on their investment."
If the $4.1 million budget cut passes through the legislature, that could mean a $33,210,000 loss of benefits to Maine's economy, which some at the university believe could lead to more financial problems within the state government.
"It's primarily a result of the state's economic condition and the fact that state policy makers felt that they are facing competition for state funds and have shifted a lot of their funding as a result of that," Diamond said. "The state spends more on corrections than it used to on jails, prisons and department of corrections … They [legislatures] would probably say they really don't have any choice. The law says that people who violate the law need to be incarcerated, so in many ways it is a public safety issue."
Diamond said the chancellor, trustees and presidents of the universities feel that if there is increased funding for the universities, it will more than pay for itself in economic benefits for the state. He believes state representatives are having difficulty finding resources to fund UMS "in large part because of the slumping economy."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
brittany
posted 3/31/08 @ 12:47 PM EST
this is so wrong becuase schools deserves more money than prisons and by this article the gov. doesn't really care about your future and cares more about criminals which doesn't really make him look very good. (Continued…)
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