By
The Wildcat Opinions Board
Gov. Jane Dee Hull is armed to fight a budget war with the legislature. She plans to veto the state legislature's recently-passed budget proposal.
In doing so, she'll be hurting UA teaching assistants, and she'll be cutting various other programs that will benefit the UA.
According to Hull the budget is like the "Titanic." She plans to wait three weeks and observe the impacts of tax time before vetoing.
But, she will veto it.
UA lobbyist Greg Fahey says the legislature's budget proposal is full of goodies for the UA.
Embedded within the state budget that the legislature passed last week is a provision that gives $1.5 million to teaching assistants. This money will decrease the average work load by hiring 104 more TA s.
The budget also provides $3 million dollars for salary hikes for UA personnel. This money could help fight the "brain drain" that the UA suffers because it just doesn't pay its profs enough.
It also provides a five percent pay increase for all state employees - which includes UA faculty and staff.
Furthermore, the budget includes funding for roof and elevator repairs, classroom remodeling and other construction projects. Money is also slated for the Arizona Health Sciences Center and the UA Sierra Vista Campus.
Thankfully, it looks like the state legislature could override Hull's veto. But the larger issue is that Hull should not override a budget plan that assists critical issues at the UA.
If Hull cuts the budget, the UA could be among the first to lose some of its slice of the pie.
"No doubt that our heads will be on the chopping block," Fahey said.
Furthermore, the state is already way behind schedule. Typically budgets are decided upon by the 65th day of each session.
We're sitting about a month and a half past deadline. Hull's veto would be another unneeded setback.
The state legislature has passed a proposal that will actually help the UA. But, as Fahey pointed out, "the drama will be what happens in the ninth floor" where Hull's office resides.
Hull's concerns lie with making sure the budget does not hurt the state's economy. But budget cuts should not hurt higher education, particularly the provisions for TA s, professors, and the five percent pay raises.
If Hull refrains from vetoing a budget package that addresses the UA's critical needs, she will prove her commitment to higher education. A veto, however, would stress the opposite.
The state legislature has finally proven its commitment to higher education. It is time for Hull to do the same.
