By SUSAN JONES
The state budget process is once again coming down to the wire, with the deadline for passage looming on June 30 — although state lawmakers have often missed this deadline.
While not as contentious as last year, the funding for Pitt and the three other state-related universities — Penn State, Temple and Lincoln — still has been the subject of debate.
The Post-Gazette reported last week that Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster and the House Republican leader, complained during a preliminary vote on the university funding that House Democrats — who have a 102-101 edge in the chamber — have not discussed budget priorities with Republicans. Rep. Matt Bradford, D-Montgomery and the Democratic majority leader, said Cutler was using students as a negotiating tool and said it was time to pass the university-funding bills.
The preliminary vote on the Pitt funding bill was 113-90, with 11 Republicans joining all Democrats in favor. But the bill is part of the nonpreferred appropriation, which must pass by a two-thirds majority or 135 lawmakers.
Chancellor Patrick Gallagher noted at the June 23 Board of Trustees meeting that the commonwealth is in the heart of budget season. “This appropriation has clear and significant implications for the Pitt community every year, because it is the passage of this … in the nonpreferred appropriation that provides the funds that support an in-state tuition discount for our students. We are paying close attention … And we look forward to its conclusion as soon as possible.”
Emails over the weekend from Pitt’s Office of Government Relations and Advocacy urged members of the University community to contact their legislators to remind them how important the funding is for Pitt students from Pennsylvania. You can email your lawmaker director through the with.pitt.edu website.
A separate email to Pitt community members living Rep. Eric Nelson’s district — Greensburg, Hempfield and surrounding communities in Westmoreland County — noted that the Republican lawmaker voted against the funding bill. Pitt–Greensburg lies within Nelson’s district. For the past two years, Nelson has advocated for a plan that would redirect the money given to the state-related universities to a voucher system that would allow students to use the funds at any institution in the state, including trade schools, community colleges and private universities.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget plan proposed a 7.1 percent increase for the four state-related universities. Pitt had asked for a 6 percent increase in the budget request it submitted last fall.
Last year, Pitt requested a 5.5 percent increase, after receiving flat funding over the previous two years. Former Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget proposal for 2022-23 contained a 5 percent increase for the state-related schools. After extended and sometimes rancorous negotiations, the legislature ultimately gave no increases to the schools. Wolf then used money that lawmakers appropriated to the governor’s office for “pandemic response” to give the state-related schools a one-time payment that equaled 5 percent of the amount passed by the legislature — an additional $7.5 million in Pitt’s case.
Shapiro’s proposal would bring the general support appropriation for Pitt to $162.26 million and funding for rural education outreach to $3.84 million. While these numbers are a 7.1 percent increase over what the legislature appropriated last year, they are only a 2 percent hike from what Pitt eventually received.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
Have a story idea or news to share? Share it with the University Times.