Senate accused of ‘punitive’ funding plan for University of Hawaii

State Senate budget proposal to give University of Hawaii a $275 million funding increase comes with conditions, including a $100,000 pay cut for UH chancellor West Oahu and the elimination of the positions of Director of Communications and Director of the Office of Equal Employment.

The 24 “conditions” dictating how some of UH’s money can be spent are unprecedented in the modern era, said Kalvert Young, UH’s director of financial affairs, who previously served as director of the Department of Finance. ‘state of the budget and finances.

“The Senate version would be the most prescriptive and specific I’ve seen,” Young said. “It’s a development that’s happened over the last three to five years.”

The Senate version of House Bill 1600 would eliminate more than 90 positions across the system of seven community colleges, three four-year campuses and the UH Board of Regents.

At the same time, the Senate plan calls for 128 new hires and research funding that UH never requested, Young said.

“There’s a lot of funding for things that UH didn’t ask for – for UH to do studies on prison reform, cultural heritage, the DOE (Department of Education) blueprint , the construction of highways on the Big Island,” he said. “They have added positions at some campuses that we did not request, mostly at community colleges: landscapers, security guards, janitors… lecturer positions, additional staff for building and ground guards, administrative support , faculty of food sciences.

In a message to the UH community on Tuesday, Young wrote, “It makes no financial sense to cut approximately $2.4 million from post funding while adding over $274 million to the operating budget. Since job cuts are not motivated by financial reasons, this action may seem to have a targeted and punitive objective. »

State Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, who chairs the Senate Ways and Means Committee, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Tuesday night that the Senate budget plans for UH are intended to hold the university accountable and reflect Senate bills introduced this session, such as proposals to hire more nursing instructors and several studies that align with state priorities, such as the effects of so-called “burritos” of sand on the beach erosion.

The proposed $100,000 pay cut for UH West Oahu Chancellor Maenette KP Ah Nee-Benham reflects the time she actually spends on campus, Dela Cruz said.

Asked about criticism that the Senate is too involved in UH ​​personnel and operational issues, Dela Cruz said, “The bottom line is we want accountability, we want transparency, we want the president and the rulers do their job. We want to make UH more relevant to what the state is trying to accomplish.

Neal Milner, a political analyst and former UH political science professor who at one time served as UH’s mediator, said that even though voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment granting autonomy to UH in 2000, state senators in particular continue to try to “micromanage”. ” workforce and operations.

He called the relationship between the Senate and UH “terrible.”

“It’s in the state constitution, but autonomy has always been trench warfare: you fight for a little thing, you lose, you win,” Milner said. “The concept has never been accepted by the Legislative Assembly, particularly in the Senate where there is personal animosity. This is clearly some sort of outrageous attempt to micromanage the university and totally ignore the kind of autonomy the university, by constitutional rule, is supposed to have to govern itself. … This (budget proposal) is clearly a slap in the face. They say, ‘We give you more money, but you’re going to have to follow the rules as we see them.’ »

The House version of the state budget also calls for additional funding for HU: an increase of $129.4 million, compared to the Senate’s proposed increase of $274.9 million.

But the House version does not go into the level of detail included in the Senate version, which does not explain spending priorities, according to Young.

“Why the Senate would want to hire a janitor at Honolulu Community College isn’t explained, why the Senate wants to get rid of Dan (UH communications director Meisenzahl) or why the UH West Oahu chancellor doesn’t deserve than a $145,000 salary,” Young said.

The House and Senate versions will go to conference committee meetings with an April 29 deadline to find a compromise.

Rep. Sylvia Luke, chair of the House Finance Committee, declined to provide a theory behind the Senate proposal or describe the relationship between the Senate and UH.

“The budget is a negotiation between the House and the Senate,” she said. “Over the next two weeks, we will be heading to a conference to resolve the differences.”

Asked about UH’s autonomy, Luke said, “Even with the constitutional amendment provision, funding is a statewide concern. Funding remains with the Governor and Legislature. With respect to specific relationships within the university, we have tried to honor HU’s goal of self-reliance.

Last month, the UH Manoa Faculty Senate passed a resolution, “Finding Improper Legislative Actions Undermining University Governance and Free Speech,” which ostensibly targeted State Senator Donna Kim. , chair of the Higher Education Committee, who did not immediately respond to a request. for comment on Tuesday.

The Faculty Senate alleged that Kim “repeatedly introduced legislation to usurp the decision-making authority of the UH Board of Trustees, the UH administration, and the UH faculty.” ; “pushed to remove a tenured faculty position” in the 2021 legislative session; and that year introduced a bill “which attempted to change the mandate and transfer management authority over the university from the Board of Regents to the Legislature”.

The legislative session began in January with a tense two-hour hearing by Senate committees led by Dela Cruz and Kim where then-UH football coach Todd Graham, athletic director David Matlin and President David Lassner were asked about a sports program that lawmakers perceived to be in disarray after the departure of more than a dozen players.

Current and former players and family members have testified to alleged mistreatment under Graham.

“The first thing David Lassner said was, ‘Essentially, you’re taking a quick shot at us. You said there can’t be oral testimony,’ and then they called people with grievances,” said Milner.

During the session, Senate bills directed against UH would also have stripped the UH president of oversight of community colleges and created a separate board of regents for community colleges; removed the purchasing powers of the president of HU; demanded that UH regents approve salaries over $200,000 for UH coaches; and gave regents the power to hire and fire HU athletic directors and coaches.

All bills seem dead.

No matter what happens with the UH budget, Milner expects tension to continue between the Senate and UH.

“The Senate has always been more than willing to – in its own words – ‘oversee the university,'” he said.