BELLINGHAM, Wash. ― Every two years for at least a decade, the governor and the Legislature have asked public university and college presidents to project what kind
of cuts they would make if they have to slash their state budgets. And every time, they groan and figure something out.
Not this year.
Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard is refusing to play the budget cutting game, after being asked by the state Office of Financial Management for a list of proposed cuts adding up to 15 percent of the university’s state budget.
“It’s idiotic,” he told The Seattle Times this past week. “If we go through this you’ll see students start fleeing, faculty taking other jobs. My obligation is to protect the quality of this university, so no, I’m not going along.”
Shepard was repeating a message he gave his board of trustees last month. He says they agreed to take this stand with him because even theoretical budget-cutting is bound to damage the school at this point.
A 15 percent cut in the money the university gets from the state would require a double-digit increase in student tuition, according to Shepard, who says more increases would be seriously damaging for Washington. Instead, Western is asking for at least a 5 percent increase in its state budget to maintain operations.
