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Image provided by: SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Feburary 26, 1991 By Pat Lavin If you haven't figured it out by now, New York state is running a little low on cash. In fact. The Empire State is pretty well tapped out. New York's budget for fiscal 1991 is 51.9 billion— with a deficit of about 6 billion. In order to make ends meet to the tune of six big ones, the state's chief executive (alias Gov. Mario Cuomo) has proposed some hefty cuts and some new revenue generating schemes in his new budget. The bulk of the cuts seem to come primarily from social/education programs— and the SUNY system will really feel the pinch. Although the proposed budget is not the final word, it does indicate that cuts are on the way. Cuomo proposes cutting SUNY's\ (state-wide) 1.24 billion dollar budget by 122 million. The proposed budget has yet to go through the state legislature, however, and then back to Cuomo, and from there God knows where, before becoming law. Exactly how much money this campus stands to lose has yet to be determined. The most current infor mation available indicates that this campus will probably face reductions in on the Chopping appropriations on the order of 3-7%, as well as the loss of a number of employees. State-wide, Cuomo seeks to cut about 7000 jobs— 1500 of which will come from the SUNY system. Outside the confines of the SUNY system, Cuomo also proposes reducing aid to local (public) schools and closing many of New York's state parks and historic sites. The CSTEP and Small Business Development Center programs may also be early casualties of the budget war. Regents' College and Nursing Scholarships are already gone, and T.A.P. awards will probably be reduced beyond the $100 reduction imposed this spring. If the proposed changes go through, the 225 students at this school who currently receive the minimum amount of aid would be completely cut off, the 482 students who receive partial aid would face a $400 (adjusted) reduction, and the 231 students who currently receive maximum T.A.P. would face a $100 (adjusted) reduction. T.A.P. will also end for summer school study. According to SUNY Utica's president, Dr. Peter Cayan, despite the increasing costs of higher education, SUNY enrollment is on the increase; state wide enrollment is expected to be between 420-450 thousand next year. Additionally, says Cayan, Albany has promised that there will be no closing nor merging of campuses. SUNY Chancellor D . Bruce Johnstone recently proposed that the 64 schools in the SUNY system charge different rates of tuition. Johnstone feels that the 4 large University centers at Buffalo, Stony Brook, Albany, and Binghamton, which conduct major research and grant advanced degrees, represent a different type of school and a different type of student. This move is very controversial, and individual campus officials are protesting the loudest. Paradoxically, students seem to be drawn to institutions with higher tuition. Says Utica President Dr. Peter Cayan: \There's an image problem involved— students feel that you get less when you pay less. The campuses which charge less money may actually see a drop in enrollment.\ By way of increasing state revenue, the Gov. proposed an increase in tuition of $500/yr, for a total of $2150/yr. Apart from Block this increase, SUNY officials in future would like to link tuition to the actual cost of providing an education— which is affected by economic factors such as inflation and recession. The rate had remained at $1,350 since 1983. Ideally, SUNY administrators would like to make tuition approximately 25% of the cost to the state. Cuomo also has in the works is a ten cent/gal. tax on gas, as well as a plan to charge N .Y .S . auto registration fees according to a car's value, rather than its weight. The final budget is theoretically supposed to be completed by April 1st— the start of the fiscal year. This budget stands to be one of the most hotly contested issues in the state legislature in decades; beyond this many political analysts are linking the outcome of this crisis to Cuomo's chances for a run at the White House. For these and other reasons, things may still be undecided by the April deadline. In all of this one things seems certain*— we're all going to be paying more for less next year.
