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Members of the University of Maine community got the chance to voice their questions and concerns about the state’s budget at Monday’s Legislative Brown Bag Lunch Series in the Bodwell Lounge of Hudson Museum.
State Sen. Mary Cathcart (D-Orono) spoke to a crowd of more than 40 students, faculty and community members last Monday. Also scheduled to speak, but unable to attend, were state representatives Jonathan Thomas and Matthew Dunlap of Orono and Edward Youngblood of Brewer.
Provost Robert Kennedy opened the meeting by introducing John Diamond, senior director of Public Affairs. Diamond spoke of Cathcart as the highest advocate for university education in the legislature.
“That’s a fact, not just my opinion,” Diamond said.
Cathcart then gave a brief speech on recent events in the legislature.
She has served for three terms as Penobscot County’s state senator and has in the past served in the House of Representatives.
“I know all of you, like me, want to know what’s going on in Augusta, what’s going to happen to the University of Maine,” said Cathcart, who has served on the Education Committee and currently serves on the Appropriations and Budgetary Committee. “The University of Maine is my top priority,”
“If we look at the budget the governor has proposed, we’re going to have trouble. The challenge will be first finding out how much money will have to be cut,” she said, which the legislature should be finding out later this week.
The university budget received a 4.2 percent increase in funding last year. This fiscal year, starting July 1, the budget was to receive a two percent increase, but with Gov. Angus King’s curtailment the budget may instead see a two percent reduction, according to Cathcart.
“What has hit you so hard is the increase in health costs. That’s what will make it such a difficult time here,” Cathcart said, referring to the increased rates of the faculty’s health insurance, which could face an $8 million increase.
Cathcart sponsored a bill in the legislature in January to give the university $9 million more for their health insurance. The bill was defeated, 12 to her one.
One of the biggest concerns of the day was the University of Maine’s Children’s Center. Several teachers, parents and staff of the center attended the meeting asking about the possible cut in the center’s budget, which they felt could lead to the cut of the entire program.
One parent, Sharon Silverman-Hummels, who is also a child advocate lawyer raised the question whether the proposed budget cut of $125,000, half of their budget, was necessary. Asking the question if this then becomes a “woman’s issue,” where women will no longer be able to work or attend school without the provided service.
“Children from the Children’s Center are ahead of most children in their grades. This is money well-spent,” Kevin Duplissie, a teacher in the chapel preschool later said, explaining that it all comes round full circle because these are the children that continue on to college.
Cathcart said she thought child care is a high priority.
“I hate to see that cut. On the other hand, I don’t know what all the cuts are, and the amount of cuts is so big it’s going to be hard to say which to cut. I don’t want to try to micro-manage the university,” Cathcart said.
According to Mark Anderson, chief financial officer of UMaine, the Children’s Center is not an issue for the governor’s budget, but is being looked into by a committee at the university.
“The issue here is the increase in the premium costs for healthcare benefits for employees,” Anderson said at the lunch.
Cathcart suggested looking into becoming a part of the state employee healthcare system, as technical colleges do. Another suggestion from the audience was a wellness program, becoming involved in preventative care to keep insurance costs down.
Another issue brought up with the governor’s proposed budget was the money he has set aside for providing laptops to seventh and eighth graders around the state. The question was why the governor insisted on these computers, which will soon be obsolete, when money is needed at the university for long-term projects.
“I can’t say why [Governor King is keeping the idea],” Cathcart said. “It’s a nice idea when we had a surplus, but it’s not my priority now. People think it’s dead, we should kill it, but the governor is hanging on.”
Money for research and development was also brought up. Cathcart said she supported R and D money to go to the university, but also supports funding to private labs like Jackson Laboratories in Bar Harbor, for biomedical research. She said Jackson Labs has one of the best lobbyists in the state working for them, which is why they get a lot of the R and D money.
According to Cathcart, the university received $8 million in state funding and just under $40 million in federal grants this year.
Among other questions was one posed by Jonathan LaBonte, a senior engineering major.
“What importance is put on keeping the cost of education down? And what’s going to get students to come to the University of Maine and graduates to stay in Maine?” he asked.
“[The renovations done to] Aubert Hall, the new Union is wonderful. I think those are things students are looking at when choosing,” Cathcart said. “The faculty, I think we have better faculty than we deserve, for the amount of money the state puts into it. I think we’re moving in the right direction, but we still have a ways to go. None of [the universities] in New England are top quality for research.”
“Is university education held to as great a standard as K-12?” LaBonte asked.
“No, I don’t think it’s as large a priority,” Cathcart said, sighting examples of jobs common in our economy such as fishing and mill jobs.
“[But] people can no longer count on graduating from high school and finding a job,” she said. “It’s a matter of changing the way people think.”
Throughout the lunch Cathcart expressed the importance of vocalizing these concerns to the governor and other members of the legislature. She closed the hour-long discussing urging everyone to contact their legislative representatives and handed out pamphlets on how to do so.
Bangor Daily News