Gov. Casey 'sugarcoats' funding facts to sweeten proposal

ALEC SCHWARTZ You can't believe everything you hear. Two of the three schools which Gov. Robert Casey cited as examples when he issued his proposal to eliminate private university funding two weeks ago are currently receiving state aid. "There's no way to sugarcoat it: New York doesn't pay to operate Columbia. New Jersey doesn't pay for Princeton. Massachusetts doesn't pay for Harvard," Casey said in his February 5 budget announcement. "So with this budget Pennsylvania is getting out of the business of paying for private colleges and institutions." According to state officials, Princeton University and Columbia University received aid from their home states last year. And while Harvard University receives no money from Massachusetts, the commonwealth does provide aid to Tufts University's Veterinary School, according to the a spokesperson from the Massachusetts Higher Education Coordination Counsel. The University stands to lose more than $37 million in aid under Casey's proposed budget, which eliminates $76 million in private institution aid. According to Sue Grimm, deputy press secretary in the budget office, the governor's statement was referring strictly to "operational" expenses. "The basis was the aid we have been providing as part of the general operating budgets of the schools," Grimm said. "Pennsylvania is one of only a few states which provide this kind of aid." Grimm also noted that state aid makes up just 2.8 percent of the University's budget, and compared the cut with the 3.5 percent in overall revenue being cut from the state schools' budgets. Casey recommends that schools trim internally, rather than increasing tuition, Grimm added. While none of the schools included in the governor's inaccurate statement are receiving as much money as the University has been receiving, host-state officials said that operational aid is indeed appropriated. "I know there are papers in your state [Pennsylvania] that are saying Princeton doesn't get money," said Judy Himes, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Higher Education. "But that's just not true." According to Himes, Princeton received $1.3 million directly from the state in the 1991 fiscal year. Of the $1.3 million, around $612,000 is statutory aid, and the remainder comes from various smaller grants. Himes said New Jersey appropriated approximately $61.5 million in fiscal year 1991 in direct aid to private colleges and universities. Under state statute around $20.4 million was divided among 16 institutions in the state which are defined as providing a public service, she said. The remainder of the aid was allocated in smaller grants. According to Himes, complete data for fiscal years 1992 and 1993 is not yet available, but in 1992 approximately $20.1 million was appropriated under the statute and a similar amount has been recommended for 1993. Columbia University's Provost John Cole said Casey's statement was inaccurate as well. While New York Gov. Mario Cuomo has cut Columbia's allocation from $15 million to $5 million, he is still funding the school, with a proposed $3 million this year. "Columbia continues to receive money from the state, but Cuomo has made sharp cutbacks of well over 65 percent," he said. "Still, this leaves [Columbia] with some state aid." Cuomo has proposed cutting state funding of private schools nearly in half for 1992-93, according to Brad Kelly, a press officer in the state's budget division. Cuomo is currently asking for a $60.9 million appropriation down from $118 million for 1991-92. According to a table in the November 6 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education, the 1991-92 appropriation was already down 35 percent over the past two years. Cuomo also proposed funding about 30 percent, or $36 million of the capitation aid program for medical and dental education. This figure is based on the percent of New York residents composing the classes. New Yorkers must comprise 70 percent of the class for Columbia to receive complete funding, said Peter Martineau, director of state relations. Under Casey's proposal, the University's Veterinary School would be hardest hit, losing around $15.3 million which accounts for 40 percent of the school's revenue, according to Vet school administrators. According to John Whittaker, the budget director of the Massachusetts Higher Education Counsel, although the state does not give aid to private colleges in general, it does allocate approximately $4 million each year for the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. Massachusetts Gov. William Weld has proposed maintaining aid at that level for next year, according to Whittaker. Dom Slowey, the governor's fiscal spokesman said the state receives services, such as examinations of police horses, in exchange for the funding. · In addition to New Jersey and New York, at least three other states provide aid for private institutions -- Florida, Maryland and Illinois. For 1991-92 Florida and Maryland private institutions received around $45.7 million and $28.3 million according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. According to Ross Hodel, the deputy director for the Illinois Board of Higher Education, Illinois appropriates around $18.5 million in operational aid to private institutions. Pennsylvania's appropriation for 1991-92 of $77.9 million equaled 5.5 percent of the total higher education appropriation, according to The Chronicle. New Jersey was a close second at 5.4 percent. New York, Maryland and Florida appropriated 4.2 percent, 3.5 percent and 3 percent of their higher education budgets, respectively. Illinois appropriates only 1 percent of it's budget to private schools. Massachusetts and Ohio do not have a regular policy of funding private schools, but do contribute to specific programs. Ohio allocated $4.7 million for Case Western Reserve University's medical school last year, according to David Summins, the state's higher education budget analyst. Slightly more than $5 million is proposed for 1992-93, he added.

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