May 16, 2008 10:27 pm
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By Joe Hadsall
jhadsall@joplinglobe.com
The Missouri Southern State University Board of Governors on Friday adopted a budget that anticipates almost $5 million more in spending than was called for in last year’s budget, but includes no cost-of-living raises for staff.
The board approved a $69.2 million budget for the fiscal year. With only about $66.6 million in estimated income, the budget calls for about $2.6 million to come from MSSU’s cash reserves.
The budget does not include cost-of-living pay raises for university staff. A 1 percent increase for employees would have cost about $300,000, according to a draft of the budget.
The budget is an increase over the current fiscal year’s budget of $64.4 million.
“I do not like recommending no across-the-board pay increase,” member David Ansley said. “Even with raising tuition as much as the state will let us, we still have a cash-flow problem.”
Employees who have been promoted will receive the salaries associated with their new positions. The board allocated $150,000 to fund those promotions.
The board also earmarked $150,000 for raises in salaries of professional staff, such as secretaries and assistants. The board will decide those raises later in the year, after receiving a report from a consulting firm studying the issue.
Richard Laird, a professor of mathematics at the university, said the move is unfortunate, but not surprising.
“I had already heard rumors we wouldn’t get much of a raise,” Laird said. “But it’s a tough financial time for the university, so we have to cut something.”
University departments will be asked to stick to their budgets and cut operating costs.
David Jones, chairman of the board’s budget committee, said a review of the university’s finances revealed that cash reserves are not as large as they should be.
“It doesn’t seem to be a problem this year, but could be in the next year,” Jones said. “Things have to tighten up on the financial end.”
Treasurer Linda Eis said the university’s cash reserves fluctuate monthly, depending on income. As of April 30, MSSU had cash and equivalents worth about $6.1 million.
Ansley said that a university should have reserves worth 60 days of operating expenses. That should be $10 million to $12 million, he said.
“With the budget we have on the table, we’ll have less than $2 million going into 2010 if we don’t turn things around,” Ansley said. “That’s not the best way to run the university.”
MSSU’s building projects are not accounted for in the budget. President Bruce Speck said the Beimdiek Student Recreation Center, a health sciences building and possible projects at Fred G. Hughes Stadium are being paid for with separate funds.
“All those projects are privately funded,” Speck said. “But we will have issues once the university assumes the maintenance costs of those buildings.”
Speck said the budget is based on current enrollment figures. The numbers could change depending on how many students attend next year.
“It could get worse, or it could get better,” Speck said. “This budget is based on a stable enrollment.”
Ansley said the board was responsible for the university’s financial situation — especially by not raising tuition costs higher than it has over the last few years.
“In the past, we’ve taken the position that cheap is the way to go,” Ansley said. “We never raised tuition in a timely manner, and we as a board need to fess up to that.”
Speck said future budgets shouldn’t have to rely on deficit spending.
Board Chairman Dwight Douglas said efforts to increase enrollment will help fill the university’s coffers. According to the budget, a 1 percent increase in credit-hour enrollment would bring in an additional $171,000.
According to numbers released in February, enrollment was down to 4,861, a decline of 333 students — about 6.4 percent — from the spring semester of last year. The university also saw a decrease in the fall 2007 semester of about 1.4 percent.
“For our long-term health, we need to be recruiting students every day for the university,” Douglas said. “We have to be ambassadors for the university.”
Building projects
Missouri Southern State University is working on three building projects that are not outlined in the $69.2 million budget adopted Friday by the board. Each project has its own funding source, Senior Vice President Terri Agee said. The buildings and their costs:
Beimdiek Student Recreation Center, about $12 million. This project is being paid primarily from a student fee assessment.
A health and sciences classroom building, about $12 million. This project is being financed through the state’s sale of MOHELA assets.
An expansion of Fred G. Hughes Stadium and surrounding athletic facilities. MSSU expects to receive $2 million from the state to build a locker room that can also serve as a storm shelter. The rest will have to come from private funds. An estimated cost is not yet known.
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