ATLANTA (AP) — Leaders of Georgia’s public universities and technical colleges warned lawmakers Wednesday that their schools could be weakened by budget cuts based on declining enrollment.
State legislators use funding formulas—with enrollment as the most important input—to determine how much money to spend each year on Georgia’s University System and Georgia’s Technical College System.
But technical colleges have seen a sharp drop in enrollment during the pandemic, and public universities are also seeing declining student numbers, especially since a drop in the number of children leads to a drop in the number of graduate students. from high school.
Declining state funding could lead to a combination of tuition increases, staff reductions and program closures.
University System Chancellor Sonny Perdue called on lawmakers in budget hearings to increase the amount the state pays for faculty salaries and building maintenance, saying those amounts lag far behind the rate of inflation. over the past two decades.
For example, Perdue said universities receive $7.86 per square foot of building space for maintenance and operations, but said actual costs have risen to $15.19.
“We think it makes sense to get closer to a true cost reality in this regard,” Perdue said.
When the state began using the college formula in the mid-1980s, the state paid about 75% of the cost of a student’s education, while tuition covered 25%. The state’s share fell below 50% due to severe budget cuts during the Great Recession. The state’s share rebounded to 57% last year thanks to the state providing $207 million for $5,000 salary increases and another $229 million to eliminate some tuition fees. This increase in state spending means that total student costs have actually fallen at all but one of the 26 universities and colleges in the system.
Yet, once adjusted for inflation, the state spends about 30% less per student than in 2000.
Perdue told lawmakers during budget hearings on Wednesday that enrollment is expected to decline statewide as the number of traditional college-age students declines. Enrollment at public universities fell to 334,000 in the fall, the second year of decline from an all-time high of 341,000 in fall 2020.
“The demographic cliff we face is severe and it’s going to be with us,” Perdue said.
Governor Brian Kemp’s proposed budgets would spend $3.2 billion on universities this year and about $25 million more next year. But that includes an additional $87 million in public funds for a $2,000 pay raise for state-covered employees. Without the salary increase, total funding for the university system would drop. Additionally, Perdue said universities will need to find $40 million to raise salaries for more than 15,000 non-state-covered employees.
Years of overall enrollment increases produced increases in funding that the system could allocate to help even colleges with declining enrollment. But Perdue said it wouldn’t be possible to play “Robin Hood” with stable or declining funding.
Technical College Commissioner Greg Dozier had a slightly more upbeat message, saying enrollment in the system rose 2% this fall.
About $130 million would be added to the technical college system’s budget this year to pay for vocational training centers at two electric vehicle assembly plants, but funding would drop slightly to $443 million next year, even with salary increases, according to Kemp’s proposal. The $9 million decline in the funding formula, due to past enrollment declines, explains more than the overall decline.
“This struggle is real for our presidents,” Dozier said.
This year, lawmakers made up for lower funding for technical colleges with more money for high-demand job training. On Wednesday, at least one key lawmaker, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Matt Hatchett, said he was open to considering changes.
“I think you’ve definitely highlighted the need to look at this little funding formula,” Hatchett, a Republican from Dublin, told Dozier.
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