The state of Illinois owes the university $105 million in appropriations payments, but SIUC is not the only one feeling the fiscal pain.
SIU President Glenn Poshard said the university has not received any appropriations payments for this fiscal year, which began July 1. This past weekend, the university did receive a check from the state for a little more than $5 million Poshard said, but that money is for the fall 2009 Monetary Award Program reimbursements.
Poshard said for November, he is still hopeful the university would receive at least enough money from the state to make payroll. And while the immediate future would most likely entail further cuts and efficiencies, Poshard said, without additional revenue coming into the state, the next fiscal year is looking worse.
“You’re talking about the most dire forecast that you can imagine,” Poshard said.
The next fiscal year for the university would include a 7 percent shortfall in the budget from federal stimulus money received this year that will not be distributed next year, Poshard said. The university also lost $4 million in non-reimbursement for veterans grants, he said, and the continued uncertainty of MAP in fall 2010 makes the situation even worse.
“You’re facing a real dire situation because we are not going to capitulate and raise tuition and fees through the sky anymore to make up for what the state can’t do for us,” Poshard said. “If you combine all of those factors together … you’re looking at a situation where we will be forced without any doubt to get into personnel. We will have put it off as long as we could have by that time.”
Darcie Schinberger, director of university relations for Western Illinois University, said the state owes $26 million in appropriations payments to the university. She said the last time the university received a check from the state was over the weekend for a small amount of MAP reimbursements for fall 2009. Schinberger said Western Illinois President Al Goldfarb posted a letter to the campus community Wednesday urging all university offices to limit spending as much as possible.
“We need to safeguard the university’s remaining budget until we gain a clearer picture from the state for the remainder of this fiscal year and fiscal year 2011,” Goldfarb said in his letter.
Melanie Magara, assistant vice president for public affairs at Northern Illinois University, said the university has not received any payments from the state since the start of the fiscal year on July 1.
According to the Associated Press, the University of Illinois has received only $400,000 of the $317 million owed from the state.
Carol Knowles, spokeswoman for Comptroller Dan Hynes, said the money owed to universities throughout the state is part of a $3.9 billion backlog in state bills.
“This is a crisis unmatched historically, and the downward spiral is accelerating,” Hynes said in a press release. “By any quantifiable measure: the bills outstanding, the payment delays and overall borrowing — the fiscal situation has never been worse, especially so early in the fiscal year, and there’s no end in sight.”
Hynes said he predicts these difficulties would continue well into the next fiscal year and warns of record and prolonged payment delays to most state programs and operations, including universities and community colleges.
Madeleine Leroux can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 254.
