State cuts $12M in university's renovation fund

"It's going to put us in a real bind, and we're going to have to make some difficult and hard choices," said Dick Roberts, the University of Arizona's chief budget officer.

The UA is in the fourth year of a five-year, $10 million "academic classroom renovations" plan, Roberts said. University officials agreed to spend $2 million each year to update older buildings with modern technological equipment.

Roberts said UA officials have an additional $3.7 million allotted for renovation projects they hoped to fund next year.

But with the Legislature allocating $4.1 million for the upcoming fiscal year, compared to $16.1 million last year, certain programs will have to be put on hold, he said.

"It's a bit disappointing that we can't keep up that kind of aggressive renewal of facilities when you know there's a need," he said.

UA state lobbyist Greg Fahey agreed that the university would be seriously impacted by the capital budget reduction.

"At the UA, we have a lot of old buildings that need a lot of work," he said. "This will really hamstring our efforts."

In recent years, officials have used state money for improvements to several campus classrooms, including the Harvill Building, Modern Languages and Social Sciences.

"We're not just painting people's offices because they want a new color on the wall," Roberts said.

The University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law, however, avoided a massive financial injury through the newly signed budget.

The agreement, signed by Gov. Jane Dee Hull Thursday, also includes a $319.4 million allotment for the UA main campus and the Health Sciences Center.

The Legislature's original proposal, released in January, included plans to phase out all funding for the university law schools, which would have cost the UA a $115 donation from alumnus James E. Rogers.

University officials were relieved to see that the budget did not also contain major hits to other programs, including the law school and faculty salaries.

Besides restoring funding for the law school, the state has agreed to give the UA about $7.4 million during the next two years for salary increases. Roberts said the money would be dispersed on a merit basis, meaning not all faculty and staff will receive a raise.

Fahey said he and other university officials were disappointed in the size of the salary raise, but were relieved that it was included in the final budget after earlier proposals had sought to decrease salaries.

By the Numbers $319.4 million for the UA main campus $7.4 million for salary increases $1.2 million for the College of Agriculture's hydroponic farming program $1 million for Optical Sciences Center expansion $600,000 for the Health Sciences Center. * the budget spans two years, from 2000 to 2001

"A lot of people worked very hard in the Legislature to restore those cuts that we faced in the beginning," he said.

Some lawmakers, however, were disappointed about the final amount given to universities.

"The most important thing we need to do to continue to attract new businesses to Arizona is to turn out a good product," said Sen. Elaine Richardson, D-Tucson. "You can't ask the universities to turn out a good product if we don't give them the proper tools."

Richardson said she is upset that Republican leaders are saying they gave universities a dramatic spending increase, when they merely restored previous cuts.

"When you take something away and then put it back, you're really still at zero," she said.

However, the UA did receive an unexpected perk this Legislative session with the allocation of $1.2 million during the next two years for the College of Agriculture's hydroponic farming program.

The money will allow the college to train students how to operate a unique type of greenhouse in which every variable is controlled by a computer.

Merle Jensen, assistant dean for the college, said state funding will allow the UA to capitalize what will soon be Arizona's largest agricultural industry.

In addition to the agriculture project, the Optical Sciences Center and the Health Sciences Center were the two UA programs funded in the university's "decision package" request.

Optics will receive $1 million for expansion in fiscal year 2001, while $600,000 will go to help the Health Sciences Center update its library.

Now that the budget has been finalized, university officials can concentrate their efforts on a legislative proposal involving the UA's Sierra Vista campus.

A bill being considered in both the Senate and the House of Representatives would allocate $6 million over four years for the construction of a new distance learning center.

Although many lawmakers have rallied behind the effort, supports of the bill are concerned that Legislature does not have the capability to fund the program.

The original proposal asked for $8 million over two years, but Sierra Vista administrators might have to settle for as little as $500,000.

"We won't turn down the $500,000, but it certainly won't build the building," said Sen. Keith Bee, R-Tucson, who has been one of the bill's primary supporters.