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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 11, 2006 SOU taps into its reserves By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune Southern Oregon University officials compare the school to a family spending more than it’s earning and making ends meet by living off its savings. It’s a situation, they say, that can’t go on for long. Faced with a 3 percent cap on tuition increases, ballooning energy costs and declining state support, SOU is dipping into its reserve account. That account is normally kept at 10 percent of the total budget, but has been drawn down to 6.8 percent, said James Main, vice president for finance and administration. At 10 percent of the school’s $38 million budget, the school’s reserve account should be $3.8 million — but now, said Main, that’s been reduced to $2.5 million. The school also is handling shortfalls with temporary cuts in such areas as travel spending and energy use and by not filling vacant positions, Main said. That approach likely will continue in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, he added. In their routine quarterly report to the state Board of Higher Education, officials from SOU and the state’s other public universities told a familiar story of "dilemma and woes," one that’s been going on for at least three years, Main said. There simply isn’t enough money from tuition and fees to pay the bills. Advertisement SOU President Elisabeth Zinser told the state board that her school would be an estimated $3 million short by the end of the next biennium, in 2009. SOU is not alone in its financial woes. Oregon State University estimated it may need cuts of $12 million this fall and Portland State University said it would have to cut $3.2 million next year. The shortfall at SOU comes from a variety of sources. For example, even with reduced energy use, SOU is spending three times more than last year for natural gas and electricity, resulting in an unbudgeted expense of $420,000 for this fiscal year, Main said. "We’re spending from savings to make ends meet," said Main, "and will be till we can ask the next Legislature (which convenes in January) if they can help us." Main noted that state support for higher education has declined from 50 percent of the school’s general fund budget to about 30 percent. "There are less and less resources and more interests competing for them and it’s not just us — it’s going on all over the West Coast," he said. Main said there has not been a "mass exodus" of students in the face of rising costs, but "enrollment is in decline and there are fewer students available." SOU’s enrollment dropped below 5,000 students last year for the first time since 1995, but a renewed marketing campaign boosted number to above 5,200 in February. The 1995 Legislature capped tuition hikes, recognizing that high tuition made higher education less affordable. Main said that while some students have dropped out because of the cost, there are enough grants and loans to keep students attending. In addition, many students have adapted to attending college part-time while they work and garner funds for tuition, he said. John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Hammocks Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Email Security Advertisement s Advertisement