As expected, WSU is likely to receive significantly less state funding during the next biennium, though Gov. Chris Gregoire’s budget recommendations, released Dec. 18, contain a few bright spots for the university.

For the past two years, WSU’s annual allocation for its operating budget was $262 million, said Joan King, executive director of planning and budget. Gregoire’s proposed budget recommends cutting that figure by $31 million, or 12 percent.

The governor’s proposed budget contains none of WSU’s new requests for its operating budget.

“Failure to have any of them funded represents a setback to the strategic plan developed by the university,” Provost Warwick Bayly said.

These requests include salary increases for faculty, staff and graduate students, funding for a new Core Computer Systems program, money to accommodate increased enrollment, funds for the new School of Global Animal Health and funds for new agriculture-related projects.

The 12 percent cut assumes a 7 percent increase in tuition, a figure consistent with recent years, King said.

Also on Dec. 18, Gregoire unveiled a special capital construction package.

Larry Ganders, assistant to the president and a lobbyist in Olympia, said Gregoire is working to stimulate the state economy through infrastructure projects, a goal that could benefit the university.

Ganders said this package included many of WSU’s requests for its capital budget, including the university’s highest priority, $38.6 million for an Applied Technology Classroom Building at WSU Vancouver.

The budget also included $7.4 million in design funds for a Veterinary Medical Research Building in Pullman, the university’s second-highest legislative priority.

The package provides $15.7 million for construction of a wastewater reclamation plant to supplement to the existing Pullman wastewater treatment facilities.

In December, WSU created a 15-member budget committee to oversee the expected reductions in the university’s operating budge, co-chaired by Bayly and President Elson S. Floyd. The university also is adjusting to a $4.47 million cut to its current budget announced in November, which includes a $2.5 million cut in the academic budget.

Bayly said there are no deadlines for the committee’s recommendations, though it has been meeting twice a week to discuss possibilities.

“We’ve had probably more than 100 suggestions, many of them very similar, but we are grateful for the thought everyone is putting into it,” he said.

Bayly does not expect the university to have to expand the list of classes to be cut through the university’s Academic Affairs Program Prioritization process. The list of 954 courses, which presents 18 percent of the courses in the university’s catalog, is now available online for feedback.

“We think we have conducted a very thorough analysis of them,” he said. “We don’t foresee any additional changes.” On Tuesday, Gregoire lifted the state hiring freeze she ordered in August, though agencies are not allowed to exceed their number of budget positions. WSU will continue its hiring freeze, which was implemented in April.

“The hiring freeze, with obvious exceptions for positions that absolutely need to be filled, is certainly a large part of meeting the budget goal,” WSU spokesman James Tinney said.

King said Gregoire’s budget recommendations will likely undergo many changes as they move to the Legislature in the coming months. The budget will not be completed until late spring.

“The difficulty of an economic downturn is that it is when students need you the most,” Ganders said.