Wednesday, November 8, 2000

North Carolina Passes Bond Measure for Colleges; Arkansas and South Carolina Split on Lotteries By JEFFREY SELINGO Voters in North Carolina on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the largest bond measure for higher education in the nation's history, paving the way for $3.1-billion in improvements at the state's public universities and community colleges. Meanwhile, voters in Arkansas and South Carolina split on whether to establish a state lottery to pay for education programs, including college scholarships. In South Carolina the lottery won; in Arkansas it lost. The three states were among 16 where voters decided on ballot measures of interest to academe. With 97 percent of the precincts reporting, 73 percent of North Carolina voters had approved the bond referendum, which will provide $2.5-billion to the 16-campus University of North Carolina system and $600-million to the state's 59 community colleges. The North Carolina measure had no organized opposition. Even so, college officials and bond supporters put on a full-court press, spending some $3-million for television and radio advertising and making the bond pitch almost wherever a crowd gathered in the state in recent months. Throughout the fall, bond supporters tried to convince voters that the massive bond package wouldn't result in higher taxes and that the enrollment growth and building needs of the two public-college systems were real. State officials insisted that the measure's huge price tag would have little impact on the state budget, since North Carolina spends about 2 percent of its annual budget on debt payments, compared with 7 percent, on average, in other states. In addition, college officials said that over the next decade they expect 48,000 more students to enter the U.N.C. system, a 31-percent increase, and 250,000 more students at the community colleges, a 33-percent increase. "Like they have done in the past, North Carolina residents supported higher education tremendously," J.B. Milliken, the U.N.C. system's vice president for public affairs and university advancement, said on Tuesday night. "This is a case where the people of North Carolina understood the issues and responded overwhelmingly." Across the border, in South Carolina, with 96 percent of the precincts reporting, 54 percent of voters approved a ballot amendment to alter the state Constitution to allow a lottery. The victory was a huge win for Gov. Jim Hodges, a Democrat, who had made it a centerpiece of his agenda when he was elected, in 1998. He estimates that it will bring in $150-million annually to pay for a variety of education programs, including $100-million to enhance an existing college scholarship program there. In recent months, however, opponents of the measure had warned that the legislation that put the referendum on the ballot failed to spell out any details on how the money would be spent. That will be left to the state's General Assembly. As a result, the South Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People decided to oppose the lottery measure, a severe blow to Mr. Hodges, who had counted on support from black voters. Voters in Arkansas on Tuesday rejected a state-run lottery. With 31 percent of the precincts reporting, 65 percent of voters opposed the measure. Profits from the games would have financed college scholarships for students who stay in the state to attend college, as well as expanded preschool-education programs. In other ballot measures considered Tuesday: Voters in Alabama approved a measure to broaden the membership of Auburn University's Board of Trustees. With 76 percent of the ballots counted, 69 percent of the state's voters approved the measure. The referendum came after several years of controversy over governance at the university, during which critics had charged that board appointments amounted to life terms for the political cronies of governors. Under the measure, two seats will be added to the 12-member board, and three members will be allowed to live outside Alabama. The measure will also create a panel to appoint new board members, shorten members' terms to 7 years from 12, limit future trustees to two terms, and prohibit anyone older than 69 from being appointed to the board. Louisiana voters rejected two companion referendums, which would have increased the state's personal income tax while at the same time eventually eliminating sales taxes on food and utilities, according to the Associated Press. The income tax was expected to generate more than $200-million a year in additional revenue for the state, part of which would have been dedicated to higher education. Officials at the state's public colleges had campaigned hard for the measure in an effort to move Louisiana closer to the regional average in financing higher education. In Oregon, voters appeared to defeat Measure 95, which would tie the pay of professors to student performance. With 45 percent of the precincts reporting, the referendum was losing 63 percent to 37 percent. With 58 percent of the ballots counted, voters were defeating Measure 91, which would have reduced income taxes by $1-billion a year, by 54 percent to 46 percent. The measure would allow Oregonians to deduct all federal income taxes on their state returns. Also being defeated was a measure that would have restricted state spending to 15 percent of Oregonians' personal income. That proposal, Measure 8, was being rejected 55 percent to 45 percent. State Referendums That Would Affect Higher Education Here are the outcomes of voting on referenda in 15 states:   Alabama   Arizona   Arkansas   California   Colorado   Hawaii   Idaho   Massachusetts   North Carolina   Oklahoma   Oregon   Rhode Island   South Carolina   Utah   Washington = Passed = Defeated Alabama Amendment 5 will limit trustees at Auburn University to two seven-year terms, and create a panel to appoint new board members. Currently, Alabama's governor appoints all trustees, who serve 12-year terms. Arizona Proposition 301 will increase the state's sales tax (which is now 5 percent) and its use tax by six-tenths of a percentage point each. Most of the new funds, about $445-million per year, will go to elementary and secondary schools, but the state's community colleges will receive a total of $11.2-million in 2000 to develop job-training programs. Arkansas Amendment 5 would have established a state lottery and put at least 45 percent of the revenues from it into the Arkansas Educational Trust Fund. Money from the fund would have financed postsecondary scholarships for high-school students who stayed in the state to attend college, as well as expanded preschool education programs. Proposed Initiated Act 1 will disburse funds received from the national tobacco settlement. The money will be used, among other things, to build a new Arkansas School of Public Health on the campus of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and to finance construction and other projects at other universities in the state. California Proposition 38 would have created vouchers to pay up to $4,000 in religious- or private-school tuition per pupil. The measure could have affected the state's community colleges by draining funds from a program they share with the public schools. Too close to call Proposition 39 would lower the proportion of local voters required to authorize bonds for construction or repair of public schools or community colleges to 55 percent (a two-thirds majority is currently required). Colorado Amendment 21 would have reduced state income tax by $25 for each person filing a return, beginning in 2001. The tax would have continued to fall by an additional $25 each year. The measure would have reduced the state's general-fund revenue by at least $663.7-million between January 1, 2002, and June 30, 2003. Hawaii Amendment 1 will give the University of Hawaii System far more autonomy from the state Legislature. The university will be given permanent self-governance in matters involving its internal structure, management, and operations. Idaho House Joint Resolution 1 will create the Public School Permanent Endowment Fund to succeed the Public School Fund, which provides money to public schools and universities. The measure will require that proceeds from any sales of public-school or college land be used to purchase other state lands in a limited time period. If the funds are not used at the end of the period, the proceeds and any interest will be placed in the endowment fund. Massachusetts Question 4 will decrease the state income tax to 5 percent, an .85-percentage-point reduction, by 2003. North Carolina The Higher Education Improvement Bond Referendum will provide $3.1-billion for construction of and renovations to campuses of the state's community-college system and the University of North Carolina system. Oklahoma Question 684 would have allowed the state to spend principal funds from the School Land Trust to provide money to state colleges and public schools. The state may now spend only income earned from the fund. The measure did not set a limit on how much of the trust's funds could be used for higher education. Question 686 will allow colleges to sign employment contracts with presidents for up to three years. The state Constitution now limits such contracts to a term of one year. Oregon Measure 1 amends the state Constitution to require the legislature to "sufficiently" finance public education -- including community colleges and public universities -- based on "quality goals" established by the legislature. Measure 8 would have linked state spending to the rate of growth of personal income among state residents. The measure would have limited spending to 15 percent of the total personal income that state residents earned during the two calendar years preceding the budget period. The estimated impact on the 2001-3 biennial state budget would have been to limit spending to $5.7-billion less than the projected $32.4-billion. Measure 9 would have prohibited public schools and colleges from providing information that "encourages, promotes or sanctions" homosexuality and bisexuality. The measure called for sanctions, including loss of state funds, if schools or community colleges violated the measure. Measure 86 will reimburse income-tax-payments to individuals and corporations when actual collections exceed by more than 2 percent the amount estimated in the legislature's state budget. The excess funds are now used, among other things, to finance community colleges. Measure 88 will increase to $5,000 from $3,000 the total amount of federal income tax that residents can claim on state tax returns. The measure will reduce the state's general fund, which finances colleges, by $168-million in 2001-3. Measure 91 would have allowed residents to deduct their full federal income-tax payment from their state tax returns. The measure would have reduceed the state's general fund, out of which colleges are financed, by an estimated $2.03-billion, or 18 percent of the estimated budget for 2001-3. Measure 95 would have affected how all public-institution instructors, including professors at community and state colleges, are evaluated for pay and promotion. The new approach would have based such decisions not on seniority or education level, but on "the degree to which the appropriate knowledge of the teacher's students increased while under the teacher's instruction." Measure 98 would have altered the state Constitution to prohibit the use of public resources, such as state workers, buildings, funds, equipment, or supplies, for political purposes. The measure would also have restricted payroll deductions from being used for political purposes. Rhode Island Question 4 provides for nearly $37-million in state bonds to finance improvements to the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and the Community College of Rhode Island. Funds will be used to renovate residence halls at Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island. The remaining funds will be used to construct a fourth campus of the community college. South Carolina Amendment 1 will alter the Constitution to allow state-run lotteries. Lottery revenues will go to an Education Lottery Account in the state treasury. Utah Initiative A will make English the official state language and require all government business to be conducted in English. The measure includes exceptions for public-school and higher-education systems to follow rules established by the State Board of Education and the State Board of Regents. Initiative B requires all property, money, or other items of value that have been lawfully seized and forfeited to be sold or auctioned by the state, and the proceeds placed in the Uniform School Fund, which provides money to public schools and state colleges and universities. Washington Initiative 722 will nullify tax and fee increases approved by the legislature in 1999, and limit property-tax increases to 2 percent annually. Those increases were approved after voters passed Initiative 695, which required all tax increases to be put before the voters. Initiative 732 will provide automatic annual cost-of-living salary adjustments to public-education employees, including some employees of community and technical colleges, for the 2001-2 academic year. SOURCE: Chronicle reporting Background articles from The Chronicle: Colleges Face an Array of Ballot Measures (10/20/2000) Big Bucks and Cooperation Mark Bond Campaign in North Carolina (10/20/2000) Keeping Ambitions High and Tuition Low Takes a Toll at U. of North Carolina (4/7/2000) Opposition Mounts to Lottery Measure on South Carolina Ballot (11/3/2000) Alabama to Vote on Plan to Overhaul Auburn U. Board (6/16/2000) Auburn Alumni Feud Ends Up in Court (11/3/2000) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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