Gov. Casey allocates $35 million for U.

St. Albans School '92 Bethesda, Md. Casey's last two budget proposals did not include any funding for the University. In his final budget address as Pennsylvania governor, Casey said his budget represents "increased opportunity" for the entire "family of Pennsylvania." Casey, speaking in the Capitol building in Harrisburg, decided to include the University and several other private colleges in his education funding proposal. After last year's budget announcement, Casey came under fire from many state lawmakers who attacked the governor for slighting private colleges and universities across the state. Last spring, lawmakers remedied what they saw as an error and restored funding to the University retroactively, appropriating more that $50 million to make up for the two-year dry spell. At the time that legislation passed, Casey gave the University a "handshake" agreement to increase funding for the 1995 fiscal year. This year's budget proposal from the governor will fund the University at a rate 20 percent higher than the amount received this year, but still five percent below the levels of funding the state met in fiscal year 1992. The largest block of money coming to the University from the budget will be $15.5 million from the state's Department of Education, which will be used to finance general instruction at the University. The state earmarked only $11.8 million to the University in this area for the current fiscal year. An area which has been the focus of considerable financial scrutiny over recent years, the University's Veterinary School, saw no increase in its general appropriations, receiving the same $7.5 million from the state it has over the last two fiscal years. Other boosts came to the Vet School. The New Bolton Center, the large animal campus of the Vet School, received $4.3 million, nearly 30 percent more than last year's amount. The governor's proposed budget also recommends similar increases for the Vet School's food and animal clinics and New Bolton's Center for Animal Health and Productivity. Additional appropriations were made through the state Department of Agriculture to the Vet School, totaling $207,000. This money will be used to institute a tripartite animal health system, consisting of three animal laboratories. Another plus for the Vet School, New Bolton Center will also be able to tap into $2.4 million in state funds to build more facilities. Gene Shank, spokesperson for the state Department of Agriculture, called Casey's proposals "the best I've ever seen from an agricultural point of view." None of the appropriations in the governor's budget are guaranteed, however, and the state legislature must still debate and vote on the final budget numbers by its June 30 deadline. Alfred Ferguson, a spokesperson for the House Appropriations Committee, said he cannot imagine a "full reversal" of the governor's budget proposals which affect the University. "I don't expect any real big debates on this, and I think everyone's assuming that it's settled," Ferguson said after the governor presented his version of the budget. Serious deliberations on the budget began mid-May, but recently state lawmakers have been increasingly concerned with the University's accountability after receiving state funds. University Director of City and Commonwealth Relations Paul Cribbins said the University will have to file a report with the state this September to prove it has used the state's money in a manner which will "aid Pennsylvania students or provide service to Pennsylvanians." University administrators said they are glad there will be no fight in Harrisburg to obtain the much-needed funding. "From the standpoint of the University's financial position, it's what we were planning on," Vice President for Finance Stephen Golding said. "It is the first time in three years that we received what we thought we would receive -- it makes financial planning that much easier."