Truman State University tmn.truman.edu THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018 tmn.truman.edu
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Governer’s budget Library sprinklers to be replaced calls for more cuts BY NICOLAS TELEP News Editor
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens released his recommendations for the 2019 fiscal year budget Monday. Within the governor’s recommended budget, $1.1 billion is allocated to the Department of Higher Education. This includes $678.4 million in core funding to Missouri’s 10 four-year public colleges and universities. Under this recommendation, including standard withholdings, Truman State University would receive a reduction of 7.7 percent in core funding from the previous year. Dave Rector, vice president for administration, finance and planning, said the University expected a cut but was only informed last week to expect a cut of this magnitude. Rector said the governor almost always withholds an extra 3 percent of each state university’s core funding, which would bring Truman’s core funding down to $36.4 million under the current proposal. This would be a reduction of $3 million from fiscal year 2018.
Actual Fiscal Year 2018 Expenditure Photo by Nicolas Telep/TMN After the front desk and multimedia lab in Pickler Memorial Library were updated during winter break, the Library and the Campus Planner’s office will work together to renovate the building’s fire supression system. Work on the project will begin during the summer of 2018 and is expected to be finished by the beginning of spring 2019. BY DANA BARTCH Staff Writer Beginning in May, a new sprinkler system will gradually be installed in Pickler Memorial Library to replace the outdated system currently in place. An efficient sprinkler system is important to campus buildings in the event of a fire, especially the library, which holds thousands of books, historical materials and records. The current system is made of 30-year-old steel pipes that have started to leak and rust, making the system less effective. Along with the sprinkler system, the fire alarm system will also be replaced. “The system that we currently have is a [preaction] system, which means when the fire alarm sounds the system loads and the water then comes into the pipes at high pressure, and after the alarm is over, then it drains out,” said Janet Romine, associate dean of libraries for research and instruction. “That in and out can lead to rust because there is air in the pipes.” Campus planner Mark Schultz is working with librarians and architects to design a wet sprinkler
system for the library which will last longer and prevent the steel pipes from rusting as quickly, if at all. This widely-used system always keeps the pipes filled with water rather than only filling when the fire alarms go off, which lowers the chances of the pipes rusting from humidity building up inside. The new system will maintain the use of concealed heads, which prevent the pipes from accidentally being struck and bursting. While deciding on an updated sprinkler system, the librarians and architects ran into a problem with the Special Collections room on the third floor. The room contains irreplaceable books and documents that cannot withstand water in the case of a fire. A different system will be used in this room that extinguishes fire with a sprayed gas rather than with a liquid. In the event of a fire, the non-toxic Novec 1230 will be sprayed in a gaseous form into the room, and the gas will absorb the heat and pull the oxygen out so the flames cannot spread. The downside of incorporating this gas system into the construction plan is it comes at a higher cost. See LIBRARY, page 3
Kirksville Arts Association plans for new building
Submitted Photo The Kirksville Arts Association’s new building, the Sue Ross Arts Center, will be built on the site of the old Kirksville Arts Center at the corner of Jefferson and McPherson Streets near The Square. The Arts Center was destroyed by fire in December 2016 and the Arts Association is currently fundraising to finance its replacement. BY RAQUEL PITTY-DIAZ Staff Writer The Kirksville Arts Association has received land approval from the City of Kirksville to begin construction on a new arts center. Getting approval took several months of working with architects to develop renderings of the new building.
VOLUME 109 ISSUE 16 © 2018
Linda Treasure, President of the Kirksville Arts Association, said it will most likely be another year before the Arts Association will break ground because the Association will need to hire architects to finish designing the building. This process should take around six months to finish. The new Arts Center will be built on the vacant site of the old building. See ARTS CENTER, page 5
$39,440,512 Governor’s Recommendation for Fiscal Year 2019
$37,516,593
Recommendation with 3% standard withholding
$36,391,095 Reduction of
7.7%
A new, key feature of the governor’s budget proposal is the withholding of 10 percent of each university’s core funding to be released if each institution meets six performance goals set by the state’s Coordinating Board for Higher Education. Rector said this is different from previous years in that meeting goals in the past meant receiving additional funding instead of having withheld funds released. The six performance goals focus on career placement outcomes, degrees granted, success on senior tests, core expenditures on instruction, the increase in the University’s payroll, and the change in net tuition and fees for instate undergraduates. Rector said the University expects to meet all the performance goals, and have the full funding released, but the final results have not yet been announced. Rector said Truman is exploring multiple strategies to deal with the possible funding shortage. He said representatives from the University will be testifying at an appropriations hearing at the State Capitol next week. He also said there has not been any discussion of another surcharge. “Higher ed’s going to work with the General Assembly and the State [Representatives] to try to get some money put back in,” Rector said. “It might work, it might not.” Rector also said a bill has been introduced in the Missouri General Assembly to raise the tuition cap currently in place on all state universities. He said the cap is based on the change in the consumer price index, and the change for this year is expected to be between 1.5-2 percent. “The state does have a revenue problem,” Rector said. “They cut the tax rate, and so there’s lower tax revenue coming in.” Rector said most university presidents think they need the increased flexibility to raise tuition above the cap, but institutions recognize they must be responsible when raising tuition because it heavily impacts students. However, he said some institutions might face hard decisions about raising tuition. Rector said University President Sue Thomas is planning to discuss the budget and possible plans to address reductions at the All University Address 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13 in the Student Union Building Georgian Rooms. In an email to staff and faculty, Thomas said the University has been working throughout the past few years to prepare for a monetary challenge. Additionally, Thomas reiterated that all current estimates point toward Truman meeting all six performance goals. “While this recommendation is very distressing, please keep in mind that the governor’s recommendation is the first step in the state’s budget process and legislative consideration of the recommendation will now begin,” Thomas said in the email. “We will be actively engaged during the legislative session.”