The College Fix

As the University struggles to deal with budget cuts, laying off faculty and cutting services, new construction throughout campus may have some students scratching their heads.

The construction may seem inappropriate, but administrators say there are reasons the construction continues despite cutbacks.

“The fact is these projects come from a different pot of money,” said Paul Favaloro, director of resources at Facility Services.

Favaloro says the most expensive construction projects on campus — those costing more than $500,000 — are funded through capital outlay, money flowing directly from the state. Political realities and legislative structural hurdles mean the money that goes to capital outlay will always go to capital outlay, according to Jason Droddy, director of External Affairs.

“Could the Legislature use some capital funds for the operating budget? There are some significant obstacles that would have to be overcome before capital funds could be used for operating, and in the end, it’s not much to speak of,” Droddy said.

Droddy also said the University has to use capital outlay money for the specific projects for which the money is dedicated by law, or the money will go elsewhere.

“It’s like a coupon. It counts as real money, but it isn’t really because you have to spend it for something specific,” he said.

Droddy cited construction on the Student Union as an example.

“If we wanted to stop construction on the Union, I guess we could,” he said. “But that money can’t go to anything else.”

Projects with capital outlay funding cost significant money. The new business school facility, for example, cost $39.9 million in construction costs. But because the funding for those projects comes as line items in bills from the Legislature, they can’t be used to pay professors — or for anything else outside the strict bounds of the project.

Read the full story at the Daily Reveille.

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