UNC System condemns state’s budget impasse and warns that it will hurt universities
UNC System leaders said Friday that they’re disappointed about the ongoing state budget impasse between the state General Assembly and Gov. Roy Cooper, and they warned of damage to the university system if things aren’t resolved.
“The lack of a state budget for the current fiscal year is a source of great frustration, real disappointment and deep concern that this will hurt our institutions, our faculty, our students and the communities we serve,” UNC System interim President Bill Roper said at a Board of Governors meeting Friday in Chapel Hill.
The board unanimously voted to pass a resolution calling on elected leaders to “move swiftly” to approve the state budget that funds nearly $800 million in key higher education projects.
Without a new state budget in place, universities across the system will not be able to pursue critical capital projects costing $630 million and infrastructure repairs and renovations costing $130 million, UNC leaders said. Enrollment growth will suffer and faculty and staff will not receive raises, they added.
There’s no state budget right now because of a political fight between Cooper, a Democrat, and the Republican-led legislature.
Unlike the federal government, North Carolina doesn’t enter a government shutdown if it doesn’t have a budget. Instead, the previous year’s budget automatically rolls over. That means any new funding or projects that had been planned won’t get money, but funding that already existed won’t be cut.
And since North Carolina typically writes two years of budgets at once, the situation could repeat itself in the next fiscal year, which lasts until June 30, 2021. The UNC board’s resolution says the absence of an enacted state budget for the 2019-21 fiscal year “threatens the ability of the university to serve the citizens of the state and contribute to the economic vitality of North Carolina.”
Cooper vetoed the budget last year, naming several criticisms, including the fact that it didn’t include Medicaid expansion and contained raises for teachers that Cooper thought should’ve been larger. Republican lawmakers were able to override the veto in the N.C. House, in a controversial Sept. 11 vote, but they lacked the votes in the Senate and never officially attempted an override vote there.
With neither side willing to budge, legislative leaders announced on Tuesday they were ending the session and going home, at least until a new session starts in late April.
‘Impasse ... is going to hurt’
At the UNC board meeting Friday, Roper asked state leaders not to make the UNC System collateral damage in this year’s political standoff.
“The impasse in Raleigh is going to hurt,” Roper said. “But the UNC System is resilient. Through collaboration, we will work to find ways to make sure the current crisis does not do irreparable damage to our institutions.”
But Roper made clear that the UNC System office does not have a reserve to cover what otherwise would be funded. He said “don’t ask,” because they simply don’t have the money.
Ford Porter, a spokesman for Cooper, said in a statement: “The Governor agrees that North Carolina needs to increase educator pay and make real investments in university infrastructure but instead legislative leaders insist on another round of corporate tax breaks. The Board of Governors should continue to tell the legislative leaders who appointed them to compromise and pass a budget that is good for education and our state.”
Legislative leaders, however, disagree that the onus is on them.
“The legislature passed the bill they are asking for with its powerful funding for university campuses across North Carolina,” said Joseph Kyzer, a spokesman for NC House Speaker Tim Moore. “The governor vetoed it.”
State Senate leader Phil Berger, in a statement, said: “Governor Roy Cooper needs to look in the mirror and stop passing the buck. The UNC Board of Governors said the legislature needs to enact House Bill 966 and Senate Bill 354. The way for the legislature to ‘enact’ those measures is for Democrats to work with Republicans to override Governor Cooper’s vetoes.
“In fact, the Senate Republicans were ready and willing to do that just three days ago, but not a single Senate Democrat was willing to stand with their constituents, teachers or our Universities and Community Colleges. In fact, all 21 Senate Democrats voted against giving teachers and UNC staff a 3.9% raise. It’s unfortunate that Governor Cooper continues to play the political blame game instead of governing.”
Although there’s still no budget and legislators don’t plan to return to Raleigh for several months, there could still be time this spring for a last-minute fix that would please the UNC System. The legislature is planning to return April 28, two months before the fiscal year ends on June 30.
In addition to calling on elected leaders to approve the budget, board members asked all UNC System campus boards of trustees to create and approve a concurring resolution.
The 24 voting board members are appointed by state legislative leaders. And while they don’t have any authority or direct leverage over the issue, leaders hope drawing attention to how universities are impacted will nudge political leaders.
“Our job as a system is simply to make people of North Carolina aware, including our lawmakers, to the impact that it will have on our system,” Board Chairman Randy Ramsey said after the meeting. “Our job now is to try to react to what we do have.”
What NC campuses are impacted?
Roper said he’s working with university chancellors to help them cope with the budget shortfalls. The chancellors have submitted institution impact statements that the system will deliver to state legislature leadership and the governor.
East Carolina University will not have the money to overhaul its Brody School of Medicine, which provides health care to Eastern North Carolina residents.
The issue also halts the progress of a new health sciences building at UNC Pembroke, a new steam plant for Western Carolina University, a STEM building at N.C. State, renovations to UNC Greensboro’s Jackson Library, and a new library and crime laboratory at Elizabeth City State University. Funding for N.C. A&T State University’s designation as a doctoral program is also at risk.
The opening of the new $73 million Morganton campus of the North Carolina School of Science and Math could be delayed by more than a year. Construction is already underway, but staffing and curricular activity are on hold, according to Ramsey.
University leaders are also worried that enrollment growth will be stalled.
While the university system is seeing record enrollment numbers, without a budget, future enrollment growth will go unfunded, Ramsey said. This will particularly hurt universities in the N.C. Promise Program, which reduced the cost of tuition to $500 per semester at Elizabeth City State University, UNC Pembroke and Western Carolina University.
Current students and those coming in next year will still be guaranteed the $500 tuition. But state funding that helps the universities make up the difference could be affected by the budget standoff. Roper and Ramsey are meeting with those university chancellors Friday to try to figure out how to alleviate the problem.
The proposed budget also included approximately 4% raises over the next two years to university faculty and staff. UNC System employees won’t be seeing that pay raise without this budget passing.
At the meeting, Ramsey and Roper said investment in salaries is critical for North Carolina universities to retain and hire faculty and remain competitive.
Roper said the system is also currently working on the 2021 budget request, which includes a “more persuasive” ask regarding faculty pay.
“More funds for faculty salaries is the surest way for the state to get the most return of its investment in higher education,” Roper said.
Leaders stay quiet on Silent Sam, address presidential search
UNC System leaders hosted a news conference after the meeting, which was the first one in months.
Roper and Ramsey refused to answer any questions about whether the system or the board has received more complaints about the controversial Silent Sam deal, the pending lawsuit with The Daily Tar Heel, the reasoning behind the $74,999 payment to the N.C. Sons of Confederate Veterans to not protest on campus, or the pulling of grant funding from the Mellon Foundation over the decision.
Roper said the system has not lost any other grants or funding as a result of the deal.
Ramsey gave a quick update on the UNC System presidential search, a position that opened up about a year ago when Margaret Spellings resigned.
The search team completed a listening tour and received more than 8,000 responses to the survey about the position. They created a profile of an ideal candidate, opened the application process and have already started speaking with potential candidates for the job.
There’s no set timeline of when the position will be voted on and filled.
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 11:05 AM with the headline "UNC System condemns state’s budget impasse and warns that it will hurt universities."
