Sanford pitches letting public schools privatize

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But educators, politicians and taxpayers expressed a mixture of shock and caution about the idea Friday. College presidents said they wanted to study the issue, but expressed concern about their mission to serve the state's residents. While other states have talked about privatization, South Carolina may finally do it, experts said.

Sanford wants the commission that governs the colleges to have more power to eliminate duplicate programs. Sanford said such programs take money from the rest of the higher education system.

If any of the 13 four-year colleges do not want to be part of the new system, they can leave, Sanford said.

The state Legislature would have to approve the proposal.

Spending on higher education has steadily decreased as a percentage of the state's budget during the past decade and now state funding contributes about 25 percent of the largest colleges' budgets.

Sanford said his plan would keep tuition in check and free up funding for colleges that choose to stay in the system. Some legislators were not sure.

"It does not appeal to me," said State Sen. Verne Smith, R-Greer. "I'm going to keep an open mind, but that's a tremendous change. I'd have to hear him explain the benefits."

Colleges that choose to leave the system would receive all buildings, real estate and capital improvements and be free of state regulation under Sanford's proposal. In exchange, the colleges would lose state funding and agree to permanently charge a preferred tuition rate for South Carolina residents.

Public colleges looking at ways to privatize is a growing trend, but this may be the first time the governor or a public body has provided the opportunity, said Clara M. Lovett, president of the American Association of Higher Education.

"Because most states have decreased the amount of support they provide, some boards of regents and even some presidents have looked at privatization," she said. "This is happening in only a few institutions and only partially."

The University of Virginia, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the California university system have pursued privatization, Lovett said.

"They are moving in that direction," she said. "But there isn't any university I know of that has officially gone from public to private."

"I don't think anybody has gone this far," said David Ward, president of the American Council on Education. "The governor is putting out a challenge. Higher education is something the state feels it can no longer provide the full cost for."

Ward predicted South Carolina will get a lot of scrutiny from other states if the plan goes forward.

"States have been moving gingerly along that direction without jumping in the deep end," he said. "It's going to be very exciting. South Carolina will be certainly well-known."

Presidents of several of the 13 four-year and 20 technical colleges said they didn't think they would go private, even if offered the option. Clemson University President James Barker said his university's success is because of its commitment to the people of the state.

"The essential question is this: Is a private Clemson University in South Carolina's best interest?" Barker said. "We have followed the emerging national discussion about privatization of public universities in Virginia, Colorado and other states, but we could not begin to answer such a fundamental question at this moment."

Andrew Sorensen, president of the University of South Carolina, said his university also needs to study the proposal.

"The University of South Carolina will never abandon its fundamental commitment to providing the highest possible educational opportunity to the largest possible number of qualified South Carolinians," he said.

Clemson University has raised tuition by more than 75 percent in the past three years, trying to offset more than $45 million in budget cuts. The University of South Carolina received more money from tuition this year than from the state — the first time that has ever happened. USC raised tuition 15 percent this year.

Over the years, the percentage of university budgets from the state has declined. This year, less than 25 percent of Clemson's budget is state money and 27 percent of USC's budget comes from the taxpayers.

Universities that could be eligible for privatization include Clemson, USC, the Medical University of South Carolina, South Carolina State, The College of Charleston, The Citadel, Winthrop, Francis Marion, Coastal Carolina, Lander, USC-Aiken, USC-Spartanburg and USC-Beaufort.

There are positives and negatives with switching, Ward said. Some schools still need the state aid to run, while others may be able to go it alone. How much to raise tuition will be one of the key factors.

"It will be an incredible challenge for each of the presidents to make that decision," Ward said. "Harvard can charge $30,000 a year, but a small state college can't."

The state spends nearly $770 million on higher education a year, according to the state Budget and Control Board — just more than 15 percent of the entire state budget. That's down from 16.5 percent of the state budget in 1990.

Cutting duplicate programs could save money off the top, Sanford said. The state has two medical schools, two architecture schools, seven schools offering nursing degrees, nine offer degrees for physical education teachers and 10 schools offer psychology majors.

In turn, Sanford said, South Carolina's tuition is 105 percent of the national average. North Carolina's tuition is 82 percent of the national average and Georgia's is 86 percent.

Cuts in state funding were exactly the reason tuition is increasing, said Democratic Sen. John Land of Florence.

"It's a real unique idea," Land said. "I can't believe there would be a college or university in the state that could function without state support."

"That simply says North Carolina and Georgia have funded their colleges and kept tuition down. We have not done that," he added.

Various state taxpayers' groups said they would support the Sanford plan, but wanted to see more of it before throwing their vote behind it.

"There are too many public colleges already," said Robert "Butch" Taylor, president of the Greenville County Taxpayers' Association. "There is a limit to what we can fund publicly."

Taylor, a graduate of the private Furman University, said the state would need to make assurances that tuition would not skyrocket.

"I think as a state we would want to make sure students had the opportunity to go to college at a reasonable price," he said.

Dan Winchester, president of the Pickens County Taxpayers' Association, said Sanford's idea may be a knee-jerk reaction to funding problems. Clemson University is in Pickens County. A better plan would be to close some of the smaller campuses, he said. Winchester doesn't think Sanford's plan will get support.

"I think it is going to be a hard sell in this state," Winchester said.

House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, said he didn't think the Legislature would go for any proposal that might increase tuition further. He said he didn't know if just making public land private was a "proper function of the state."

"I'm not in favor of taking any steps that would cause tuition to increase further," he said. "We all look forward to learning more about it."

Another issue to address is whether land-grant colleges, such as Clemson, can be made private, Lovett said.

"Many universities were founded as land grants to serve the citizens of the state," she said. "You have to wonder what happens when they go private? Are they still meeting that goal if they are private?"

Land said the state has never fully funded education — whether it is higher education or the kindergarten through 12 system — but privatization is not the answer.

"The very little we're doing for our colleges anyway, we're certainly pushing them in that direction," Land said.

Jason Zacher can be reached at 298-4272. John Boyanoski can be reached at 298-4065.