2008 Woodie Awards
Budget fate to be determined
Legislature to rule on key UWT land aquisitions
Nick Przybyciel
Issue date: 3/9/06 Section: Campus News
Funding that the University of Washington, Tacoma needs to purchase land as part of its "campus footprint" is up in the air, with the Washington State Legislature expected to reach a decision by March 9.
The senate earmarked money for the acquisitions in its version of the 2006 supplemental budget, along with money for an additional 25 freshman full-time enrollments for UWT. However, the house omitted the provisions in its budget. After House-Senate negotiations, a finalized budget will be announced.
UWT submitted a proposal requesting $4.7 million to purchase land around the campus. The university already owns approximately 70 percent of the property bordering the campus, constituting 46 acres. If funding is denied by the legislature, UWT faces a major setback.
"I can't identify the specific properties, but I can say that they are critical to the university's future," UWT Chancellor Patricia Spakes said.
Spakes would not elaborate on the locations of the property, in order to avoid a bidding war between UWT and other possible developers.
"We have at the present time several properties where the owners say they are ready to sell and they're anxious to sell," she said "At least one of those properties, if the university does not buy it, could be condomoninized."
If the properties are turned into condominiums, it will complicate matters greatly when UWT needs space for development, Spakes said. All of the property owners who reside in the condominium would have to agree to sell the property, thereby driving up the price.
"We are very eager to get that property," she said.
She remains optimistic that UWT still has a chance to purchase it. "I feel reasonably positive that there will be funding in the budget, in the final budget for the property acquisition. How much, I don't know," Spakes said.
If UWT lost the funding for additional students, it is not expected to have a large impact on implementing the freshman class, since UWT already has funding for 125 FTEs.
"That will have no impact on our freshman class. There are benefits to having a larger freshman class opposed to a smaller freshman class, just in terms of the economy of the scale. It's more important to teach more students than fewer students in the long run," Spakes said.
UWT did not request the 25 additional FTE's; it was part of a larger request submitted by the Higher Education Coordinating Board in order to increase the size of the freshman class statewide.
With their proposal, the HECB intended to signal that the legislature is supportive of increasing access to higher education across the state.
While that extra support is not necessary for UWT to transfer to a four-year institution next fall, there is room to accommodate the extra students if the funding is approved, Spakes said.
The senate earmarked money for the acquisitions in its version of the 2006 supplemental budget, along with money for an additional 25 freshman full-time enrollments for UWT. However, the house omitted the provisions in its budget. After House-Senate negotiations, a finalized budget will be announced.
UWT submitted a proposal requesting $4.7 million to purchase land around the campus. The university already owns approximately 70 percent of the property bordering the campus, constituting 46 acres. If funding is denied by the legislature, UWT faces a major setback.
"I can't identify the specific properties, but I can say that they are critical to the university's future," UWT Chancellor Patricia Spakes said.
Spakes would not elaborate on the locations of the property, in order to avoid a bidding war between UWT and other possible developers.
"We have at the present time several properties where the owners say they are ready to sell and they're anxious to sell," she said "At least one of those properties, if the university does not buy it, could be condomoninized."
If the properties are turned into condominiums, it will complicate matters greatly when UWT needs space for development, Spakes said. All of the property owners who reside in the condominium would have to agree to sell the property, thereby driving up the price.
"We are very eager to get that property," she said.
She remains optimistic that UWT still has a chance to purchase it. "I feel reasonably positive that there will be funding in the budget, in the final budget for the property acquisition. How much, I don't know," Spakes said.
If UWT lost the funding for additional students, it is not expected to have a large impact on implementing the freshman class, since UWT already has funding for 125 FTEs.
"That will have no impact on our freshman class. There are benefits to having a larger freshman class opposed to a smaller freshman class, just in terms of the economy of the scale. It's more important to teach more students than fewer students in the long run," Spakes said.
UWT did not request the 25 additional FTE's; it was part of a larger request submitted by the Higher Education Coordinating Board in order to increase the size of the freshman class statewide.
With their proposal, the HECB intended to signal that the legislature is supportive of increasing access to higher education across the state.
While that extra support is not necessary for UWT to transfer to a four-year institution next fall, there is room to accommodate the extra students if the funding is approved, Spakes said.