CLEMSON — Clemson University officials are enlisting help in battling Gov. Mark Sanford’s proposal to cut millions of dollars in their Public Service Activities budget from programs they say are vital to South Carolina residents.
"If this budget is implemented, Clemson would never be the same again," said John Kelly, Clemson’s vice president for public service. "The core of Clemson University has always been public service. Now, we feel that’s being jeopardized."
Mr. Kelly briefed more than 300 Clemson employees that could be affected by the proposed cut during a town-hall meeting on campus Friday, two days after university officials voiced their concerns to a group of state lawmakers.
He expressed optimism after the town hall meeting, noting that members of the state House Ways and Means subcommittee they met with Wednesday were responsive to their arguments about the value of Clemson’s threatened public-service programs.
Mr. Kelly noted the proposed cut also threatens Clemson’s College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences because many of its faculty members also work in Public Service Activities, which, in addition, provides much of the college’s budget for areas such as research.
Calvin Schoulties, the college’s dean, said during the town hall meeting that the university "would move heaven and earth" to maintain the quality of its courses for students.
The governor’s proposed executive budget calls for Clemson’s Public Service Activities to focus on what he deems its core mission of agricultural productivity. Accordingly, the proposed budget would slice millions of dollars in support for the agency’s four other areas of work:
- economic and community development;
- environmental conservation;
- food safety and nutrition;
- and youth development.
Will Folks, the governor’s press secretary, reiterated Friday that the governor is not suggesting programs in those other areas have no value. Rather, Mr. Folks said, given that the state is starting the budget process with a $350 million shortfall, the governor is trying to prioritize spending, giving extra consideration to areas such as education and healthcare, and focus agencies on their core missions.
But Mr. Kelly, who acknowledged Friday that Clemson could not altogether prevent yet another state budget cut, argues that the four Public Service areas the governor’s budget would cut are related to its agriculture mission and are meeting South Carolinians’ needs.
Currently, Clemson’s Public Service Activities receives about $38 million in annual state support. The governor’s proposal would cut $8.1 million of that used for programs in the four areas outside of agriculture. An additional $7.5 million would be cut from unspecified areas, amounting to a total cut of $15.6 million.
The proposal suggests Clemson could recoup that $7.5 million, at least for one year, by using $7.5 million of the money it made from selling land at its Sandhill Research and Education Center in Columbia.
Mr. Folks said Clemson had hoped to use that money to build a new Sandhill facility including research labs and offices. But given the state’s limited resources, the proposed budget suggests it would be better to use the money to cover operating expenses even though it acknowledges using one-time funds for recurring costs is not ideal.
Jean Scott can be reached at (864) 654-6553 or by e-mail at scottj@IndependentMail.com.
