Comparatively speaking, SUNY is going okay — but they need more money from the state as they work to chop down a $10 billion maintenance backlog which has threatened operations at campuses across the state.
That’s according to a new report, and state budget testimony from SUNY Chancellor John King in Albany Tuesday.
Two years after a dismal ten-year outlook projected SUNY would face a $10 billion deficit by 2034, significant state assistance and an improved overall picture, including the first three-year string of increased enrollment since 2007-09, has slashed that to $50 million.
In an interview with Spectrum News 1, King said SUNY getting down to less than $50 million is dependent on continued partnership with the state and sustaining those consecutive years of enrollment increases, but the system of 64 campuses is also in critical need of an infusion of cash to repair crumbling buildings from a bygone era.
“Buildings that are at risk of not having the heat not work — you can imagine how difficult that is this time of year. The governor put in $595 million, our board asked for a billion dollars,” he said.
In his testimony to the state Legislature, King detailed how those deferred maintenance issues have interrupted day to day operations and student experience.
“At every campus we have significant needs. For example, at SUNY Purchase a couple of weeks ago for their classes because academic buildings were without heat, at Buffalo State in the fall we had dorms without hot water and students had to shower in trailers,” he told lawmakers.
King is asking the state Legislature to step in as they negotiate a final number with Gov. Kathy Hochul, not only asking for nearly double the $595 million proposed by the governor, but for a multi-year capital plan which would allow the system to work ahead and prioritize improvements that King pointed out are “not glamorous projects.”
“What we hope for is a five-year capital plan, similar to the MTA, or the Department of Transportation that says ‘here is what you’re getting over the next five years,’ ideally $10 billion over the next five years,” he said.
It comes as King and SUNY have continued to take a public stance against the Trump administration’s attacks on Diversity Equity and Inclusion policies at colleges and universities, and paid a financial price.
King said SUNY has lost an additional $11 million in grants since Spectrum News 1 asked the chancellor about it October, for a total of $43 million.
“We continue to litigate on some of these issues because we know diversity equity and inclusion is consistent with the law, and the actions of the administration haven’t been,” he said.