Empire Editorial: UA’s budget strategy is akin to climate change denial

  • Sunday, September 27, 2015 1:04am
  • Opinion

There are two ways to address an unpleasant truth: You can confront it, or you can deny it.

The University of Alaska has chosen the latter course.

Last week, university administrators presented their fiscal year 2017 budget proposal to the UA Board of Regents. The budget proposal, expected to be approved in November, calls for $27 million more from the state.

With the state facing a multibillion-dollar gap between revenue and expenses, and the state’s Office of Management and Budget saying the university should expect a $15.8 million DECREASE, the university system is preparing its budget based on an expectation that the Alaska Legislature will provide an INCREASE.

This is ludicrous.

Making matters worse, those figures only apply to the university system’s operating budget. The university is preparing a separate capital budget request of $134.8 million.

In a July memo, Pat Pitney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said state departments should expect a capital budget of no more than $150 million — not for the university system, but for the entire state.

Members of the Board of Regents said when they met in Juneau that it is important for the university system to make a statement and say exactly what it will cost to keep providing the services it offers today. It’s a negotiating tactic, they said.

That’s like trying to bluff in a poker hand where everyone is playing with their cards face-up on the table.

While meeting in Juneau, the regents repeatedly spoke about the need to maintain morale at university campuses and asked university chancellors how staff were feeling.

If the university’s regents are truly concerned about the morale of staff, they should stop imitating the ostrich and confront the problems they face.

Uncertainty, not budget cuts, inflicts the most harm to morale. Uncertainty unsettles your stomach and makes your heart hurt until you finally take the step to end it by searching for a new job, even if you don’t know whether you’ll lose your existing one.

A smarter approach by the regents would be to imitate the actions taken by the state’s municipal school districts, in particular the Juneau School District.

When Juneau schools faced budget cuts, district administrators did not attempt to deny the situation. They presented a budget proposal and explained in plain English what would be cut dependent on the level of state and municipal funding provided.

The University of Alaska should follow this approach.

Instead of proposing a budget based on wishful thinking, when regents meet in November they should approve a proposal that follows OMB’s recommendations and explain in plain English to lawmakers what further cuts will mean.

UA President Jim Johansen has suggested “vertical cuts” — the elimination of programs — rather than “horizontal cuts” — trimming the budgets of multiple departments.

Legislators may rethink their actions if they are presented with the reality that entire English or history departments will be budget casualties. Denying the truth will win the UA system no allies in the Legislature.

We declaim those who deny climate change. We should do the same for those who deny budget change.

More in Opinion

Web
Have something to say?

Here’s how to add your voice to the conversation.

From left, Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) head to the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday morning, July 1, 2025. Senate Republicans were racing on Tuesday morning to lock down the votes to pass their sweeping tax and domestic police bill, after an all-night session of voting and negotiating with holdouts left Trump’s agenda hanging in the balance. (Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times)
My Turn: Murkowski’s moment of shame

She has no excuse for not following the model Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., set when he killed Joe Biden’s biggest initiative in 2021.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks about his decision to veto House Bill 57 during a press conference at the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, May 19, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Governor deposits a veto to help predatory lenders

Thousands of Alaskans get so squeezed on their finances every year that… Continue reading

Deven Mitchell is the executive director and chief executive officer of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. (Photo courtesy of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.)
Opinion: The key to a stronger fund: Diversification

Diversification is a means of stabilizing returns and mitigating risk

The Tongass National Forest sign seen en route to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Opinion: Environmentalists without an honest cause

I took a little liberty with their statement because they took a lot of liberty with the facts.

A Juneau Police Department vehicle patrols a neighborhood near Juneau International Airport after warning a person camped along the side of the road they need to move their campsite on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Homeless, not helpless — Part 2

In January 2017, I penned a My Turn entitled “Homeless Not Helpless”… Continue reading

In this June 23, 2016, photo, the Alaska Marine Highway ferry Matanuska passes Eagle Glacier. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
More competitive wages will shore up AMHS workforce

The Alaska Marine Highway System provides transportation along thousands of miles of… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Life is harder when you outlive your support group

Mom was ready to die, knowing the world would be OK. Or so she thought.

Participants in “No Kings” protest walk down Egan Drive waving an American flag on Saturday, June 14, 2025 (Natalie Buttner / Juneau Empire)
Opinion: Why we protest

Along with more than a thousand other Juneauites, I attended the “No… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter: Public broadcasting is part of the fabric of Alaska’s rural communities

Public broadcasting forms an essential part of the fabric of Alaska’s rural… Continue reading

Members of the Yées Ḵu.oo Dance Group perform at the Cancer Survivors Day walk on Sunday, June 8, 2025, at Overstreet Park. (Ellie Ruel / Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter: Thank you

Each June, people around the world commemorate National Cancer Survivors Day. Cancer… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 24, 2025. (Tom Brenner / The New York Times)
My Turn: But wait a minute, if…

I thought it might be worthwhile to add some historical perspective to… Continue reading