Clemson encouraged by cuts included in proposed state budget

Posted Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 6:23 pm

By Anna Simon
CLEMSON BUREAU
asimon@greenvillenews.com

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CLEMSON — A proposed state budget approved by the House Ways and Means Committee includes cuts in funding for Clemson University that the school's leaders called encouraging and fair.

The proposal would cut less than 2 percent from Clemson's academic and operational budget and 4.71 percent from its public service budget.

That compares with Gov. Mark Sanford's proposal that Clemson officials said would cut 3.5 percent from the academic side and 40.6 percent from public service.

However, Will Folks, Sanford's spokesman, has said the governor's proposal cuts far less from public service. It would replace most of $8 million cut with $7.5 million Clemson plans to use to build an economic and community development center at its Sandhills Research and Education Center in Columbia.

The facility is a bone of contention between Clemson and the governor.

Clemson's public service includes research, extension and regulatory services for agriculture, economic and community development, environmental conservation, food safety and nutrition, and youth development.

The House Ways and Means proposal "is very much in line with our priorities," Clemson President James Barker said.

"We're encouraged that the members of the House have recognized the importance of our mission of public service," as well as "value of higher education in general around the state."

The committee's proposed budget also includes a 2 percent salary increase for all state employees. Barker said that is good for workers who "have not had a salary increase in some time and have had the added burden of increased payments for health insurance."

But he said, "We also know there is also very much more work that remains before the (budget) process is complete."

John Kelly, Clemson's vice president for public service, said the cut is "very fair and equitable" to Clemson's public service arm and is one "we feel like we can work with."

Calvin Schoulties, dean of Clemson's College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, where half the salaries come from Clemson's public service budget, said, "It's the first step but it's a big one."

The Ways and Means proposal will go before the full House.

Tuesday, March 30