Reps propose reductions in U. state funds

The University's quest to retain its $37.6 million state appropriation moved into the home stretch this week, as state legislators in Harrisburg began the annual task of hammering out the state's budget for the next fiscal year. University administrators will follow the progress with keen interest, hoping that lawmakers ignore Gov. Robert Casey's own proposal in February that the legislature eliminate all state funding for private institutions like the University. Despite strong lobbying by the University and its supporters, limited state revenues no new tax increases - combined with flack from the so-called Mayor's Scholarship dispute - has dimmed the University's chances of receiving the full $37.6 million, much less its requested $41.2 million, lawmakers said this week. Two legislative proposals already released - one by the House Democrats and the other by Senate Republicans - show that a repeat of last year's budget success for the University is less probable. "We've got a very tight budget year," said James Roebuck (D-Phila.). "The question is where our priorities lie and where the cuts have to be made. Whether [the University] gets its full funding is not clear yet, but it is doubtful." Under the plan most favorable for the University, Senate Republicans would provide more than $33 million - about $4 million short of last year's total - to all areas now receiving state aid, including the general instruction line item that helps fund financial aid. By contrast, House Democrats would cut more than $26 million from last year's package, eliminating general instruction aid altogether and funding ony the Veterinary School, though at levels slightly lower than last year's. But, according to Roebuck, even the Senate Republican plan would ultimately hurt the University because those dollars would come at the expense of funding for public education, welfare and transportation in cities such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. "That plan would make sure that kids from the public schools don't even get into Penn," he said. In a worst case scenario, however, it appears that the Vet School would receive at least some funding. Of all areas of the University, the Vet School - which accounts for 40 percent of its annual operating budget with state funds - needs help from Harrisburg the most. One added hurdle for the University this year has been winning the active support of Philadelphia area state representatives, many of whom have worked hard in the past for the University in a legislature known for its anti-Philadelphia bias. Several local representatives said the University's stance in the dispute over the Mayor's Scholarships has made it difficult for them to lobby as actively for the University's funding as they have in the past years. The dispute, which has dragged on since late October, centers around the number of scholarships the University is required to provide Philadelphians in return for almost 47 acres of rent-free city land the University received decades ago. The representatives support a class-action lawsuit against the University, now pending in Common Pleas Court, that claims the University's 125 annual scholarships fall well short of the number of awards that a 1977 city ordinance requires. In January, 20 members of the Philadelphia delegation - including House Appropriations Committee chairman Dwight Evans - sent President Sheldon Hackney a letter warning that it would be "very difficult" for them to support the state funding unless the University increased its scholarship commitment. Rep. Harold James (D-Phila.) who signed the letter, said last week that the letter was not an empty threat. He said he has spent less time this year than usual lobbying directly on behalf of the University through such means as letters to influential lawmakers, adding he currently does not support state funding for the University's general instruction. Stephen Golding, the University's budget director, said that the University administrators understand the representative's concerns about the scholarship issue. But Golding said administrators also want to educate the representatives - along with the entire legislature - on the value of the state aid to the community in the form of salaries and other economic benefits. Vincent Hughes (D-Phila.), who is also among the 20 to sign the letter, said the instruction is not needed. He said he is a "firm believer and advocate for investing in higher education" and already appreciates the value of the University's economic impact. But he said the scholarship issue - which he calls just another example of the general "lack of performance" of the state's entire higher education community towards blacks - has weakened his support for the University. Unlike last year, several legislators said they inten to avoid a protracted struggle to pass a budget and would work to reach a consensus with their peers by the June 30 deadline. Last year, the legislature restored the University's funding to the presvious year's level only after passing a budget in August that included huge tax increases. Casey had recommended cutting the University's state aid in half that year.

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