Final Budget Update June 3, 2009

From:    Purse, Les
Sent:    Wednesday, June 3, 2009
To:    All Staff & Faculty DL
Subject: Final budget recommendations

I have finalized my recommendations to the Board of Trustees for Evergreen's 2009-11 operating budget. There are no changes from the draft recommendations (PDF) that the Vice Presidents and I shared with the campus on May 6 or with the Board at their May 13 meeting. I will be asking the Board to act on my final budget recommendation (PDF) at their June 11 meeting (PDF).

Without question, this was one of the most challenging legislative cycles the state or the college has faced in recent times. I appreciate the time and attention that many people have given to planning for this budget reduction over the past year.  The community remained engaged and provided valuable input throughout this lengthy process by attending meetings, submitting questions and ideas and providing feedback.

The comments I have received over the past few weeks have acknowledged the magnitude of the problem the college faces and raised understandable concerns about the effect this budget will have on the college, its mission, and its students, faculty and staff. This recommendation attempts to address some of those concerns to the extent that we can with the resources we now have available.

In particular, a major element of this recommendation is an increase in resident undergraduate tuition of 14% per year to help mitigate the effects of a substantial reduction in state support. At the same time, we are holding back a significant portion of this new revenue to make a major additional investment in our financial aid programs. When combined with increases in federal and state aid, we expect that this new source of financial aid should offset the increase in tuition for students that currently receive grant aid. This recommendation also includes smaller cuts to student employment than were proposed in earlier versions of the budget.

In many ways, this final budget recommendation is not as severe as some of the earlier budget reduction scenarios we for which we were prepared. Nevertheless, it sets back the funding we receive from the state to 1999 levels and offsets a part of that reduction by shifting more of the financial burden to students and their families.

We have considerable work to do to adjust to this new budget. While the hiring freeze we implemented last year has helped minimize the number of layoffs, more than 30 positions will be eliminated. Making this new staffing configuration work over the long run will take considerable attention. For example, our public service centers have taken a major cut.  In the next year, within the context of smaller budgets, we must review our vision and strategies to fulfill our important public service mission. We must undertake this work, knowing that the state's economic contraction is not yet over and that the state anticipates another deficit in the next biennium.  With this in mind, we will need to continue some of our current spending limitations and manage our resources carefully.

In the end, I have confidence that this recommendation will allow us to maintain our commitment to teaching and learning.  I am grateful for the tremendous work that the faculty, staff and students do here and the great value we provide to our students and our state.