Defending his second proposal to cut funding drastically for public higher education, Gov. Tom Corbett delivered an unhappy Valentine’s Day apologia at the Siemens Healthcare plant in Chester County:
“The first thing I hear from higher education is that we have to raise tuition,” Corbett said. “That’s the first thing they do, they take it out on the student, they take it out on the parent. They need to start thinking about cutting the cost of education.” — via WHYY
How much does Corbett actually know about the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) — the state-owned system — over which he nominally presides? Apparently little, since cutting operational budgets at PASSHE’s universities is old news.
Chancellor John Cavanaugh and Board of Governors Chair Guido Pichini’s statement on Corbett’s proposed budget made the point very clear: PASSHE has cut 900 jobs since 2010. Does the governor know? Does he care?
In the same statement, Cavanaugh and Pichini also note the system has saved $230 million in cost savings over the last decade — does the governor know? PASSHE has retrofitted heating plants, consolidated purchasing and centralized data collection. Does the governor care about such details?
When he says, “It’s incumbent upon the people of Pennsylvania to call on [these colleges] to control the cost of education,” does he know the facts? Does he care?
Last year, the governor approved an 18 percent cut in state funding; this year there are 150 fewer faculty in the classroom. If the General Assembly authorizes his 20 percent cut, is he willing to live with the loss of another 150? How concerned is he really for the students at the universities that the commonwealth owns?
Further, Corbett’s math seems to be a bit off. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Corbett stated his cuts would amount to 3.8 percent of the system’s operating budget. Since his cuts are $82 million and the system’s budget is $1.5 billion, his math simply doesn’t work. When he asked the Siemens executives if they could live with an 1.8 percent cut (the percent cited for Temple University), did he not realize that, even with his math, that’s half of what PASSHE would have to cope with? Since my calculator comes up with 5.5 percent cut of PASSHE’s budget, does he know the ramifications? Does he care?
Would the Siemens executives have been so willing to say they could survive with PASSHE’s steep cut? Did he ask them if they could do it for two years in a row? Does the governor know that Pennsylvania already ranks 46th out of 50 in its per capita support for higher education? Does he care?
Does Corbett truly not understand that there’s a significant difference between the budgeting models used at a nonprofit public university and a for-profit business like Siemens? Unlike a for-profit business, public universities don’t aim for profits to sustain themselves for future shortfalls: their mission is to run a zero-sum budget every year.
The governor and others in his administration need to learn more about the State System and the good work it has done amid transparency and cost controls. He needs to learn about the valuable — and yes, still affordable — education it provides to tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians. It’s a good thing that educating is our business and we do it well. But, first, he has to care.
– Steve
Tim Mayers
/ February 17, 2012There are many interesting points here, to which I would add this: The budget for the Department of Corrections, now at $1.9 billion (and “frozen” there in the Governor’s budget proposal) is approximately $400 million more than the budget for the ENTIRE State System of Higher Education (allegedly “owned” by the state, but only funded by the state in small part). Keep that figure of $400 million in mind, because that’s very close to what the ENTIRE budget of the Department of Corrections was in 1990. (It was $407 million, to be exact.)
The ENTIRE current budget of the State System is roughly equivalent to the GROWTH of the Corrections budget since 1990. The state clearly puts a much greater priority on locking its citizens behind bars than it does on providing and affordable higher education system for its citizens.
The PASSHE presidents and chancellor might want to think about trumpeting those facts at every available opportunity instead of merely pointing out that they have already cut costs. Maybe they should also tell the Governor, in unison, that they feel it is their moral obligation to stop cutting the costs of higher education until the Governor shows some serious effort to control the costs of incarceration.
Vincent Spina
/ February 17, 2012I am in support of what Tim Mayers stated above, maybe in UNISON, the presidents, the chancellor and the UNION and the union should inform the governor what education really means and really costs. Maybe the public schools should also join in telling the governor since they also (one district already) cannot operate affectively on their budget (or lack thereof). Maybe the message should not only got to the governor. What efforts are being made to inform the average Pennsylvanian that their schools will soon no longer be working, that is, if they still are. And maybe we should be seriously planning to get the message out.
Tim Mayers
/ February 18, 2012Vincent, on one hand it’s great to see the System’s leaders pointing out that they’ve already done what Corbett claims they need to do: cut costs. On the other hand, it’s very disheartening to hear these same System leaders saying they hope to achieve more cost cuts in negotiations with APSCUF. Why don’t they note that they already have cut instructional costs in a big way by increasing class sizes (unless that’s not something they’re particularly proud of)? You’re right: This should be a time when the Chancellor, the fourteen Presidents, and APSCUF all come together. APSCUF shouldn’t have to shame the System’s leaders into doing the right thing. Nor should we be on a limb by ourselves as they only ones fighting for the QUALITY of the education we offer.
sethkahn
/ February 18, 2012Our Chancellor will do nothing. He was hired, in the full light of day, to convert our system into a competitor with the University of Phoenix. It would be nice if we could come together with that office, but unless his philosophy of education has changed, the odds are very low that we could do so without selling out everything we know about quality public higher education.
The reason the Chancellor won’t answer the Governor angrily is that he’s not angry. The Governor is giving the Chancellor cover to do what he’s wanted to do all along, and the Chancellor’s silence tells anybody who’s listening that the system is on board with the Governor’s program (pogrom?).