Gee: WVU cannot look to Legislature to solve financial problems

The cutbacks are part of an “Academic Transformation� in the face of a $45 million budget deficit administrators attribute to declining enrollment. However, the changes have drawn contempt from the university community, as students and faculty members have protested the cuts to the university’s resources.

University administrators have maintained that seeking funding from the Legislature to help offset the cutbacks, even if only temporarily, would not have been a wise option.

“When I returned to the state in 2014, the state was facing about a $400 million budget deficit. I just knew that there was no way I was going to be able to go to the state and ask for an infusion of dollars,� Gee said Wednesday. “It’s a structural deficit. If I’d asked for $45 million, it’s just kicking the can down the road. That’s the stupidest funding formula you could possibly imagine.�

Gee told the Gazette-Mail editorial board that the university must solve its own financial problems and state leaders have shown support for the university’s methods, which have been characterized as lacking transparency by students and faculty.

In a recent administration briefing, Gov. Jim Justice said he believes there is no desire among leaders in the Legislature to “bail out� WVU and the university needs to be given time to get its house in order.

“The governor and I talk frequently, and he’s very supportive of what we’re doing. He’s indicated his continuing support. We have great support out of both the leadership in the House and the Senate,� Gee said.

Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, made his support for Gee clear in a recent op-ed.

“We do not have unlimited sums of taxpayer moneys to permanently backfill a loss in enrollment. It is why West Virginia University knew that it would be unreasonable to expect to be handed a $45 million blank check with ongoing expectations,� Blair wrote. “Instead, they did what needed to be done, looked around at their programs, their investments, and their personnel structure, and made the decisions that nobody wants to make.�

Blair wrote, “In the short term, it may feel like the sky is falling, but on its current trajectory, that financial picture only became more bleak, regardless of how much state support WVU received.�

Gee noted the university has received support from the Legislature, including $50 million for cancer research, as well as funding for deferred maintenance.

“When we make the tough decisions on our part, then we have the right and expectation that the Legislature will support us in the things we need to do,� Gee said. “If I had gone down and said, ‘Give us a Band-Aid,’ I would have gotten a reception which would have been called a cold shoulder.�

Gee isn’t wrong, Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, said Thursday. Hansen was one of several legislators who unsuccessfully attempted to add a $45 million funding measure for WVU to the agenda during a special legislative session in August.

“It’s possible that the Legislative leadership might have just told him, ‘No.’ That’s a question of priorities for our Legislative leadership,� Hansen said. “We had a $1.8 billion surplus and we were in special session last month to pass numerous bills to appropriate surplus funds. That $45 million would have been available, if public education were a priority.�

However, Hansen said he believes the Legislature’s hands-off approach is partly ideological.

“I think there are people in the Legislature that feel like universities are places kids get sent to be indoctrinated on liberal ways of thought,� Hansen said. “People who hold that worldview would like to weaken universities like WVU for political reasons.�

Hansen added, “I think that’s misguided. Public education plays a critical role in our economy and in our democracy. It has to be a part of the solution for keeping West Virginians in-state and for attracting people to come here.�

Despite claims that WVU will be stronger after its transformation, Hansen said, he and others are concerned that eliminating certain programs will only harm the institution.

“We need programs like foreign languages, creative writing, mathematics, parks and recreation, energy and economics — a wide range of offerings that a land-grant institution should provide,� Hansen said.

While it’s certain that WVU will retain many qualified staff, the best and brightest among them might be the ones to seek employment elsewhere as a result of the cuts, Hansen said.

“One concern is we may start to lose some of our best professors, who see the writing on the wall at WVU and look elsewhere for employment. It’s going to be our best professors who have the best job prospects to move elsewhere,� he said. “I’m also concerned that it’s bad for attracting students to come to WVU, both in-state and out-of-state.�

Hansen said the speed at which WVU has made the cuts also is cause for concern.

“A lot of the concerns that I’ve heard from faculty and staff have to do with the process that was followed and not feeling that they had meaningful involvement in the process,� Hansen said. “I know that there was a process and a lot of it was done in the public view, transparently, and I appreciate the administration doing that. But it was such a rushed process that it left a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths.�

While Gee has insisted that “speed is our friend� throughout the process, Hansen warned it also can be a foe. He pointed to the Legislature’s own recent tendency to rush bills through to passage without adhering to constitutional rules requiring them to be read on three consecutive days.

Rushing the process erodes the public’s trust, Hansen said.

“I think that’s a reflection of what happens when a party has the supermajority. You have to really look out for the process and make sure it’s followed,� Hansen said. “There’s a reason why the constitution requires bills to be read on three separate days. We make better policy if the public can follow along and we can have meaningful debate. When things get rushed through, that all goes by the wayside.�