Higher education facing budget ax

COLUMBIA — In the latest version of the state's upcoming budget, several local projects survived the ax while public colleges and universities continue to walk a tightrope during hard economic times.

The state Senate Finance Committee shaved $50 million off its bottom line in the $7 billion spending plan that begins July 1, although some of that money could be restored to projects such as a new computer system for The Citadel as the process moves forward.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman said the budget is stripped of all pork. The panel passed the budget late Thursday, but final details were not released until Friday.

The budget is expected to be debated on the Senate floor in two weeks, and would then go to a conference committee where House and Senate negotiators would sort out differences before it could go to the governor.

The House budget cut millions from higher education, but the Senate's version cuts even deeper, including slashing $20 million from the $30 million the House approved for research projects at the Medical University of South Carolina, Clemson University and the University of South Carolina.

Instead, that money was used to cover college scholarships, freeing money in the budget to give state workers a 2 percent raise.

Money for public schools was kept intact, including funding teacher salaries at $300 above the Southeastern average.

The $246,000 taken from Spoleto Festival USA quickly caught the eye of Senate Minority Leader John Land. The Manning Democrat's wife serves on Spoleto's board. "Every dollar they get helps South Carolina," Land said.

And the dollars they don't get will be devastating, Spoleto Director Nigel Redden said.

"The money from the state is the difference between a healthy, vital organization and our being very severely damaged and potentially going out of business," Redden said. State funding for the arts festival has been cut in previous budgets and vetoed by Gov. Mark Sanford, but it has typically been restored.

Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau and a member of the Finance Committee, said the budget is pretty bare bones. The cuts, though, would not have had to be so drastic if the Legislature had managed its funds better last year when revenue flowed into state coffers, he said.

"I think we weren't as responsible as we could have been," said Grooms, who voiced those concerns last year during budget talks.

While the House cut most agency budgets outside of public schools and health care agencies by 2.4 percent in its version, Leatherman, R-Florence, said his panel's plan calls for average reductions of 3.6 percent.

The Department of Corrections is one state agency that would really feel the pinch. Josh Gelinas, communications director, said the Senate's proposal would leave the agency operating with about $1.2 million less than it has this year.

Rather than see agencies such as the Corrections Department suffer, Grooms said he wants to see the state tap the $18.4 million reserved in a controversial competitive grants program.

The grants program has been under fire from Sanford and others who say it's a legislative slush fund for pet projects.

Budget crunch

The state Senate Finance Committee released details Friday of its proposed spending plan. Money for local projects has fluctuated from the House version, and could still be changed as the numbers are vetted further.

Here's a look how some projects fare in the latest version:

WINNERS

-- $19.7 million to buy 551 school buses as part of the state's new replacement cycle and $29 million for fuel and maintenance.

-- $807,094 for teachers to buy classroom supplies.

-- $25,000 for The Citadel to purchase a computer system (House budgets about $1.3 million).

-- $4.5 million for a high-speed computer network at Clemson University, the University of South Carolina and Medical University of South Carolina.

-- $50,000 for the College of Charleston toward the ongoing construction of its science center (House budgets $1.5 million).

-- $600,000 for the Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC.

-- $100,000 for the rural dentist incentive program at MUSC.

-- $2.4 million for dredging Charleston Harbor.

LOSERS

-- $70,000 cut from Camp Happy Days, a Charleston-based organization for children with cancer and their families.

-- $100,000 cut from Children in Crisis, a shelter for abused children in Summerville.

-- $100,000 cut from Callen Lacy Center, a home for abused children in Berkeley County.

-- $600,000 cut from Heritage Community Services, a North Charleston nonprofit that teaches abstinence.

-- $225,000 cut from the Special Olympics.

-- $246,000 cut from Spoleto Festival USA.

-- $166,191 cut from Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-799-9051 or ywenger@postandcourier.com.