Rosenberg: State should pay for higher ed infrastructure

The Hampshire Gazette
Thursday, February 1, 2007
By Kristin Palpini

AMHERST - State Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg has filed a bill that would have the state foot the bill for more than $3 billion in improvements to the infrastructure of Massachusetts' 29 institutions of public higher education.

If approved, the bill would be a major change in how renovations and new buildings on public college and university campuses have been paid for over the last 15 to 20 years. The state would borrow about $3.34 billion and pay it back over a period not to exceed 30 years. During the past few decades, the state has paid little of the construction costs for campuses. Before this period, which saw two recessions, the state paid for the majority of public higher education construction, said state Rep. Ellen Story, D-Amherst, who is in favor of the bill.

"This really is just going back to the way that it used to be," Story said.

Public higher education institutions "are using their operating budget to pay for buildings, and that never happened before," she said. "This puts a tremendous strain on their budgets, and it also means that the student fees have just gone sky high."

Students at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, for example, now pay $7,881 in fees, which is almost four times the cost of tuition.

"The state of the capital infrastructure in higher education is woefully inadequate and in need of repair," said Barry Maloney, Westfield State College's interim president.

"I think this is great, and I applaud them for their support of higher education," Maloney said of the bill's supporters.

Rosenberg's bill, which is also sponsored by state Rep. Robert O'Leary, R-Cape/Islands, and state Sen. Steven Panagiotakos, D-Lowell, would have the state issue bonds to pay for $3.34 billion in renovations and construction at the state's universities, state and community colleges over a period of 10-15 years.

"We want this to be 100 percent paid for by the state," said Rosenberg, D-Amherst. "Massachusetts distinguishes itself, and not positively, by putting the capital costs on the backs of the students instead of on the commonwealth."

As an example of the state's recent lack of building support for public higher education, Rosenberg pointed to UMass-Amherst. The state is now picking up about $70 million, or 10 percent, of the $710 million construction projects under way or recently completed on campus.

"It's time for a change," he said.

The bill, dubbed the Higher Education Capital Outlay Loan Act of 2007, seems to have the support of higher education administrators and politicians.

"This makes sense," Story said. "Massachusetts is known well for having a very educated workforce and that's the reason businesses like to move here. We (legislators) need to support that by supporting the buildings."

"It is absolutely critical for us to take this approach," said state Rep. John W. Scibak, D-South Hadley. "It is the right way to do this out of capital than out of a college's operating budget. This will give UMass and the other campuses a far more credible way of saying we're here and we're competitive with the other states."

"This is a good idea and it is long overdue," said state Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield. "These are priorities, especially if you represent a district with a college."

Still, Rosenberg is cautious.

"It's too early to tell," said Rosenberg, who filed the bill for this session in December. The $3.34 billion cost for improving infrastructure at the state's campuses was derived from two reports on capital needs, one compiled by UMass and the other by the state Board of Higher Education, and a variety of public hearings held from 2004 to 2006, Rosenberg said.

The bill also seeks reimbursements for colleges and universities who have started capital improvement projects.

Under the bill, the UMass five-campus system would received $2.14 billion. UMass-Amherst has estimated that it would cost $1.3 billion to replace ailing buildings on campus and renovate others plagued by deferred maintenance. UMass-Amherst officials have estimated that if their campus were to borrow $1.3 billion to fix all its building woes, 22 percent of the university's operating budget would be consumed annually by construction debt.

"I am very pleased with this bill," said Jack M. Wilson, UMass president. "Capital improvements are one of our biggest needs."

Maloney said he is unsure how much of the funding that would be provided through the bill would be allocated to Westfield State. However, Maloney said if the bill passed, the college would build more classroom space and better labs for the physical science departments.

"Our labs are circa 1950," Maloney said. "We have a budding environmental science program that could really use a shot in the arm."