Vancouver WSU branch faces cuts

The state’s senior economic forecaster released a grim memo Friday, saying that sales taxes would likely be down in coming months as people curtail home and car purchases.

By Monday, Washington State University Vancouver Chancellor Hal Dengerink sent out an equally downcast e-mail to staff members about what this means for the branch campus.

“We know that WSU Vancouver will have to take budget cuts,” Dengerink wrote. “What we still don’t know is how much of a budget reduction we will have to take.”

Noting that Gov. Chris Gregoire asked the WSU system to return $6 million to the state, Dengerink said, “It keeps getting worse.”

How much of that money will come from WSU Vancouver is yet to be determined, Vice Chancellor Lynn Valenter said.

For now, it appears the financial impact is minimal, though it means that WSU Vancouver has frozen 24 positions and restricted out-of-state travel.

“I’d far prefer to not hire someone than to terminate someone who is already here,” Dengerink said. However, the state could “cut our budget deep enough that I couldn’t do it any other way.”

The governor has predicted a $3.3 billion state budget shortfall, which Dengerink said would likely affect WSU’s budget. The Legislature should approve a budget this winter, so the university must wait before drafting its own financial plans.

Unlike elementary and secondary education, state money doesn’t follow the student. Rather, the state pays for a set number of spots at a public university or college; students who are admitted in addition to the state’s allotted spots contribute tuition dollars only.

WSUV has about 2,800 students.

The budget cuts won’t affect WSU Vancouver’s much touted electrical engineering program for now, as the Legislature specifically targeted money for that program.

Not all budgets have been slashed, however: WSU President Elson Floyd received a 21 percent raise in early September, from $600,000 to $725,000 a year, not including perks or benefits.

Dengerink said that Floyd would divert some, if not all, of his raise to a scholarship he established with his wife.