Bulger derides Romney proposals for higher ed

by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff

resident William M. Bulger this week ratcheted up the debate over Gov. Mitt Romney's bid to restructure UMass and state and community colleges, telling legislative budget leaders that the reorganization proposal is an "attack on public higher education."

     Testifying before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Ways and Means committees at Bridgewater State College on Monday, Bulger accused the governor of orchestrating a "corporate takeover" of the public college system.

     "Let me be clear, the proposed reorganizing, downsizing, and privatizing of public higher education in Massachusetts is the wrong course," said Bulger. "As I look at the proposed plan, I see the 'higher' and the 'public' being removed from public higher education. And I see education being defined as nothing more than job training."

     Portraying the public colleges and University as an avenue of opportunity and hope for working-class families, Bulger said Romney was practicing "a kind of elitism" by targeting higher education.

     "I urge you to set aside this effort to dismantle the University of Massachusetts and downgrade the state and community colleges because it will result in fewer true higher educational opportunities for the people of Massachusetts," he said.

     The president's testimony was his first public comment since Romney two weeks ago offered a blueprint for restructuring the state's higher education system, including eliminating Bulger's job and breaking up the five-campus University system. The governor's plan, developed by consultants Romney's former firm, Bain and Co., was square in Bulger's sights at the hearing.

     "Some argue that the administration's proposal serves a good purpose by generating a debate about public higher education," Bulger told lawmakers. "This proposal was drafted by Bain and Company. There seems to have been no consultation, no in-depth study, no thought given to the proposal. It is simply an attack on public higher education."

     Bulger also assailed the administration for blocking a scheduled $371 million bond sale intended to fund campus construction projects. Approved in the final days of Acting Gov. Jane Swift's administration, the bond issue was stopped at the last minute by Romney, who said the funding plan had not been reviewed fully.

     Among the projects to be funded by the bonds are two residence halls at UMass Boston and the integrated sciences building in Amherst.

     But Secretary of Administration and Finance Eric Kriss said the bonds covered several projects not included in the University's five-year capital plan, including a $19.2 million dining hall at UMass Boston, a $9 million parking garage at UMass Lowell and $1.4 million for athletic fields at Dartmouth.

     The President's Office conceded that the bond issue was expanded to include projects on a previously approved 10-year capital plan after investment advisors said the move would capitalize on more favorable interest rates. Bulger's office also said that a representative of Salomon Smith Barney, the bond agency, had contacted Kriss and Romney education advisor Peter Nessen about the planned sale.

     After Kriss put a hold on the sale, a Bulger spokesman said the bond issue was dead.
At Monday's hearing, Bulger blasted the action by the governor.

     "I take this disruption as a stark statement of what every public campus in Massachusetts could expect under the proposed corporate model -- unilateral and omnipresent control over all aspects of higher education," he said. "This experience raises the question as to whether we should consider eliminating this power from the administration in cases where there are no state funds involved in University projects. That, in fact, is the practice in many other states."

     Bulger also told lawmakers that Romney's budget proposal will cut state support for the University by $65 million, including $30 million from the Amherst campus, and lead to as many as 1,500 layoffs across the UMass system.

     "The administration has said it wants to privatize UMass Amherst and UMass Medical within four years," said Bulger. "The lieutenant governor [Kerry Healey] has said that UMass Amherst -- and I quote -- 'will over the next four years become self-sufficient.'

     "I fear that this administration is setting us on a path that would lead to soaring tuition bills -- leaving behind the many thousands who cannot afford to pay the $25,000 charged at private research universities in Massachusetts.

     "Let us not privatize the American Dream."

     In later testimony, Romney's pick for education secretary, Peter Nessen, offered the first details of Romney's plan to trim $100 million from public higher education. According to Nessen, the cuts include:

• $30.1 million from the $69.4 million currently allocated for academic support services, libraries, audiovisual centers, academic centers and clerical support;
• $24.3 million from $79.6 million for students services, such as athletics, admissions and financial aid offices, new student orientation, health services and career advising;
• $32.9 million from $89.1 million for business offices, public safety, human resources, computing services, public relations and alumni services.

     According to Nessen, another $14 million will be saved by eliminating Bulger's office, while tuition hikes will generate $50 million in new revenue.

     Nessen, who was sharply criticized for not providing the figures to lawmakers prior to the hearing, said campus-by-campus cuts have not been finalized.

     Legislators on the Ways and Means panels also took Romney to task for using Bain and Co. to develop a restructuring plan without consulting campus officials. A representative of Bain, who attended the hearing to assist Nessen in answering questions, was not allowed to address the lawmakers.