UUP Op-Ed Pieces

SUNY budget cut would hurt economy as well as students
By William E. Scheuerman

With the current talk in Albany of slashing state spending to erase the multibillion-dollar budget deficit, let's get an essential point on the table -- SUNY is already cut to the bone.

The University's 29 state-operated campuses are reeling from three straight years of flat budgets, after years of declining fiscal support. Increased costs without an increase in funding and mid-year cuts last fall left the colleges deep in the hole. Now the 2003-04 Executive Budget proposes to reduce overall state support for these chronically underfunded campuses by $183.5 million, or 15 percent. Another decrease will rock the foundation of an already shaky system and jeopardize the quality education that SUNY students deserve.

And the pain will be felt off campus as well, as local economies are impacted by the proposed cuts. United University Professions (UUP) estimates that a 15 percent cut in public funding for the University threatens about 4,000 full-time faculty jobs statewide. Locally, that translates into nearly 100 jobs lost at Brockport and more than 70 at Geneseo. UUP, which represents academic and professional faculty on the state-operated campuses, has been fighting this unacceptable cut since its announcement and will continue to fight until state funding is restored.

Imagine the devastating toll job cuts would take on the campus communities. The Brockport economy, for example, would lose benefits it now gains from $8.6 million in SUNY salaries; Geneseo would suffer from $5.7 million less in area wages. From dry cleaners to diners to car dealers, area merchants need University-generated dollars.

Losing this revenue would not only be disastrous to the local economy, it's bad fiscal policy. For every dollar the state invests in SUNY, it reaps two dollars in return. And Western New York depends upon SUNY institutions as economic engines that will fuel the region's fiscal recovery.

A recent UUP poll of registered voters showed overwhelming numbers of New Yorkers realize the importance of a SUNY campus to their local economy. They think spending on SUNY is a good investment; they know the University trains the state's workforce and creates jobs.

Strong budgetary support for the state's University during these tough economic times makes a lot of sense. There's a disconnection between public opinion and public policy. Now is the time to invest in SUNY.

Consider too the effect of faculty layoffs on students. SUNY students are already finding it extremely difficult to take the required courses they need to graduate on time. Bachelors' degrees earned in five and even six years are all too commonplace.

Why is this the case? Because SUNY lacks the full-time faculty needed to teach the courses. The University system has lost more than 1,000 full-time faculty lines since the mid-1990s. While some progress has been made toward replacing the positions, the movement -- like the graduation rates -- is slow going.

New Yorkers recognize the value of a SUNY education, and their children are flocking to its campuses. With enrollments on the rise, if campuses lose more faculty at the lecterns, access to the University would be limited and educational quality diminished.

Fewer students in the community would mean further economic losses to area businesses.

To highlight the widespread impact of a bad SUNY budget, UUP is engaging in walk-about days during the week of March 23. Union members will distribute "SUNY bucks" to area merchants in Brockport, Geneseo and the other campus communities to emphasize that the proposed cuts to SUNY could mean a significant loss of business in their towns.

We encourage everyone affected by this great University to rally together and join UUP's fight by urging lawmakers to keep SUNY -- and the local economies -- in business.

Cuts to the University would be a shortsighted and ill-advised approach to solving the state's budget woes. Now more than ever, New York needs a strong SUNY system.

William E. Scheuerman is the president of United University Professions (UUP). UUP represents more then 34,000 academic and professional faculty on 29 State University of New York campuses. It is affiliated with New York State United Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers,
AFL-CIO.