TAMIU girds, plans for possible 5% funding cut

By Karina Moreno

“At a time when the University is growing, Texas is facing a dilemma, and that is not having money to cover the needs of education and healthcare,” said Dr. Ray Keck, president of Texas A&M International University, in reference to the possible 5 percent state budget cut in the University's funding. The proposed cut implies a two million dollar loss in funding for the biennium.

The certainty of whether or not this cut will be mandated by the state will remain unsolved until May 2005. “I would be very surprised,” said Dr. Keck, “if the state of Texas decided to go through with this because everyone knows education is the future, and cutting education would stop us from reaching the Texas we all want.”

Nevertheless, the University has a contingency plan and groups of people constantly meeting to prepare for such a cut.

According to Dr. Keck, a number of measures would have to be enforced in order to hold even. “We would have to freeze positions, eliminate positions, and raise tuition,” he said. “And this would just hold us even; there would be no money for growth.”

Currently, 29 new faculty members were introduced to the University at the start of the school year to fill vacant positions, something that may no longer be possible. All positions would be frozen; there would be no new hires. “There would be a reduction in force,” said Dr. Keck, “which means we would have to let people go, simply because there is no money to pay them.”

Along with these cost cutting factors, the University would have to implement increases in tuition fees, something in the realm of a $9 per credit hour increase a semester. Again, this is only to hold even, not for growth of the University's programs. “We are working to not price ourselves beyond the reach of our students,” Dr. Keck said.

The University experienced a 4.5 percent budget cut in January 2003, which required a return in the amount of a million dollars to the state. “We froze everything and held on tight. It was painful; this isn't any different,” said Dr. Keck.

Nevertheless, Senator Judith Zaffirini is pushing aggressively against cutting education. “She is looking for ways to restructure the budget and is rethinking the revenue streams since the state's sources of revenue are limited right now,” the TAMIU president said.

“This is not a secret,” Dr. Keck said. “It is important people know about this. We will not know for certain until May 2005, but it ain't over ‘till it's over.”