By Jacquie Powers
Cornell officials have examined the details of Gov. George Pataki's state budget proposal, which reduces fund ing for higher education, and are consulting with legislative officials to restore critical components to the university's budget and to student financial aid programs.
Analysis of the governor's budget proposal is compli cated this year by accounting changes in the budget format and by a proposed change in the fiscal year for the State University of New York (SUNY), through which the four state-supported colleges at Cornell receive a portion of their
funding. The new fiscal year would run from July 1 to June 30, rather than April 1 to March 30.
"We are concerned about the continuing impact of state budget reductions on the statutory colleges at Cornell. Over the past seven years they have absorbed $21.6 million in appropriation reductions, with a loss of more than 300 positions," said Cornell Provost Don M. Randel. "At this point further reductions pose a severe threat to the quality of students' education and to our ability to serve essential needs of New York state industries and citizens."
The executive budget recommendation, announced Dec. 15, would produce a roughly $100 million reduction in
operating support to SUNY campuses. Cornell's state -supported colleges are the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Human Ecology, School of Industrial and Labor Relations and College of Veterinary Medicine.
In addition to the SUNY appropriation reduction, Pataki proposed reducing Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) fund ing by $100 million, to $527 million. This will have a direct impact on students who attend all private and public col leges and universities in New York state.
Family income eligibility would be changed from $50,500 net taxable income to $50,500 adjusted gross income. This
would lower the eligibility ceiling by approximately $10,000 and would affect many Cornell students.
"These cuts in the student aid program will be particularly difficult for our stu dents, in view of similar federal proposals that also would lower levels of financial aid," Randel said.
The budget proposal does not, as it did in previous years, provide a specific allocation for the state-supported colleges at Cornell. Instead, all SUNY and statutory colleges are included in a $2.7 billion appropriation, which would be divided by the SUNY Board of Trustees among the 34 SUNY-operated campuses, the statutory colleges and the SUNY central administration. Cornell has been involved in ongoing discussions with SUNY administrators and trustees about the need for continued financial support of the statutory colleges' essential and unique statewide outreach and research missions, as well as their educational functions.
Cornell received $120.1 million for its four statutory colleges from the state for the 1995-96 fiscal year, prior to a mid-year cut of $1.2 million. For fiscal 1996-97, Cornell asked the state for $126.1 million.
Nathan Fawcett, Cornell's director of statutory college affairs, expressed concern for the state-supported colleges' ability to continue delivering critical outreach and research programs.
In addition, programs such as Sea Grant and the New York State College of Veteri nary Medicine's canine research efforts no longer have a separate line item in the ex ecutive budget and, therefore, their funding levels are in question.
Cornell officials did find these bright spots in the budget announcement and in amend ments offered by the governor this week.
·Direct Institutional Aid to Independent Colleges and Universities (Bundy Aid) would remain at the current year level of $39 million. (Cornell receives approximately $2 million based on the number of graduates each year.)
·Statewide aid to county Cooperative Extension associations through Cornell would remain at $2.9 million.
·Cornell's supercomputing Theory Center would continue to receive $800,000.
·Support for the state's Centers for Advanced Technology would continue. Cornell's Biotechnology Center receives $1 million.
·Support is maintained for the state's Educational Opportunity Programs, which provide funding and counseling services for economically and educationally disadvan taged students.
·The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program was restored to last year's level of $787,000.
·The College of Veterinary Medicine's Diagnostic Laboratory, which protects the health and economic vitality of the state's production animal industry, also was re stored at last year's level of $1,845,100.
·The "Agriculture in the Classroom" program, which was eliminated in the original executive budget proposal, would see half of its funds ($30,000) restored.
In addition, the governor announced in his annual State of the State message that in an amendment to his budget proposal he was including $250,000 to support breast cancer research and extension programs at Cornell. In the only reference to higher education in his speech, Pataki said he would include funding "for scholars at Cornell University to work with the state to computerize and coordinate information on pesticides and pesticide usage throughout the state."