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Isles failing Hawaii is the only state that "has consistently failed to gain ground" in funding higher education, according to a national study.
higher-ed funding
The state's steady economic
decline is blamed for the
38th-place budget ranking
for 2000-2001By Helen Altonn
Star-BulletinThe Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University examined the growth of state higher-education budgets and found that, while they have slowed in many states, they generally remain healthy.
Only Hawaii and Louisiana cut their higher-education budgets for the 2000-2001 fiscal year, the center said.
Furthermore, Hawaii is 49th among states in a ranking of change in funding for the past year and two-year period, according to the center's figures.
This is no surprise since Hawaii has been in an economic decline since the early 1990s, said UH Senior Vice President Dean Smith. "If the economy goes down, we go down ...
"We have fallen precipitously in state support," he said, noting the UH has about $160 million in deferred maintenance, a large deferred equipment problem and "woefully underpaid" staff.
Also, some courses aren't offered as frequently as in the past, he said.
Smith anticipates increased state support if the economy picks up, pointing out, "As we grow, we tend to feed the economy."
It's too early to know what the prospects are but there are "promising signs we'll see at least a slight increase in our budget," he said.
"Together, we need to reverse this very sad trend," said Alex Malahoff, president of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, the faculty union.
"There cannot be any high-tech development of note in Hawaii without a first-class university. The two are inseparable."
The Chronicle of Higher Education, reporting results of the national study, said more than half of the states provided less funding for college operations and student aid in the current fiscal year than the previous year.
Predictions of a slowdown in economy and state spending may be starting to happen across the country, the report said.
But higher-education spending rose overall by $3.9 billion or 7 percent -- the third consecutive annual 7 percent rise. Much of it was driven by California, which increased college and student-aid appropriations by 17 percent.
Hawaii is one of only six states spending less on higher education than they would be if their appropriations had just kept pace with inflation over the past decade, the Chronicle reported.
But the others -- Montana, Vermont, Wyoming and Alaska and New York -- are making headway in trying to catch up, it said.
The Chronicle figures rank Hawaii 38th nationally for 2000-2001 with a $339 million university budget, a 0.9 percent decrease from the previous year.
They show a 5.2 percent increase in the UH budget over two years, from $322.2 million 1998-99 to $339 million this fiscal year. Still, it failed to boost Hawaii from 49th place.
UH budget Director Rodney Sakaguchi attributed the percentage increase to increased appropriations and lower fringe-benefit costs.
Fringe benefits were estimated at $53.6 million in the UH appropriation for this fiscal year, compared with $64.4 million in 1999-2000, he said. "A large factor is the employer's share of retirement system costs."
However, fringe benefits will go up if higher salaries are negotiated, Sakaguchi noted.
What isn't included in the Chronicle figures for the UH is its debt-service cost, roughly $45 million, he said.
The state administration now is putting debt service and fringe benefit costs in the UH budget to reflect total university costs, Sakaguchi said.
But the entire amount of about $103 million was transferred at the start of the fiscal year in July to the departments of Budget and Finance, and Accounting and General Services, he said.
Hawaii has ranked toward the bottom among states in funding higher education for the past five years, according to the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University. Here are some numbers: Academic appropriations
$339 million: Funds appropriated for 2000-2001 fiscal year