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Budget 101: State erases Princeton aid
When the state Legislature passed the new state budget over the weekend, it contained a surprise one-sentence footnote denying state aid to any colleges "with endowments in excess of $1 billion."
It didn't take long for Princeton University officials to realize that meant their school, and only their school.
Princeton, which has an $11 billion endowment, was slated to receive about $538,000 in state aid in this year's budget. Thanks to the footnote, the Ivy League school will get nothing.
Though the loss of a few hundred thousand dollars will have little impact on one of the wealthiest institutions in the world, Princeton officials were not happy with the snub.
"We do understand that this was a difficult budget year," said Cass Cliatt, a Princeton spokeswoman. "Our greater concern would be the proverbial slippery slope."
Allowing lawmakers to exclude one university from the budget sets a dangerous precedent, Cliatt said. In future years, one -- or all -- of New Jersey's private colleges might find themselves off the list.
"We would anticipate that the state will continue to support independent colleges," Cliatt said.
State officials made no excuses for cutting out Princeton in a year when New Jersey was struggling to stay out of the red.
"The Legislature felt strongly that, given our state's limited resources, we had to target our expenditures at those institutions that needed it most," said Brendan Gilfillan, a spokesman for Gov. Jon Corzine.
No other private university in New Jersey comes close to having a $1 billion endowment. Drew University, with $225 million, and Seton Hall University, with $182 million, come closest, according to the latest available tax records.
New Jersey has a long tradition of giving taxpayer dollars to all 14 private, nonprofit colleges and universities in the state, regardless of their size or wealth. In 1979, with the Independent College and University Assistance Act, the state became one of the few in the nation to award direct state aid to the schools each year as an acknowledgment of their public mission and contribution to the state's economy.
The aid is awarded based on the number of New Jersey undergraduates at each institution. The idea is to encourage private colleges to open their doors and offer scholarships to local students. Higher education officials say that is important in a crowded state with a shortage of space at Rutgers and the state's other public colleges.
Princeton enrolled 610 New Jersey undergraduates last year, according to campus statistics. Garden State residents made up about 13 percent of the class, second only to students from New York.
Because the rest of New Jersey's independent colleges enroll higher percentages of state residents, Princeton usually receives the smallest portion of the state funding.
With Princeton excluded, this year's $19.5 million in state aid will be divided among the 13 other private colleges: Bloomfield College, Caldwell College, Centenary College, College of Saint Elizabeth, Drew University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Felician College, Georgian Court University, Monmouth University, Rider University, St. Peter's College, Seton Hall University and Stevens Institute of Technology.
Despite the Princeton snub, the private colleges did well in the last-minute budget haggling in Trenton. They originally were slated for a $12 million cut from last year's $24 million appropriation. But the schools got $7.5 million back in the last-minute negotiations with the help of Senate President and former Gov. Richard Codey.
The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in New Jersey, which lobbies for the private colleges in Trenton, is unsure which lawmaker put the Princeton footnote in the budget, said John B. Wilson, the association's president.
The governor's office did not name the author of the footnote yesterday.
Wilson said he's heard several versions of how the footnote got in the budget, but he hasn't been able to determine the source.
"We are worried about the precedent it sets," Wilson said. "This is a short-term solution to a financial issue."
Lawmakers also cut Princeton out of the budget in the mid-1990s during another tough budget year, school officials said. But the university was back in the budget the following summer.
The missing $538,000 in state aid represents a small fraction of Princeton's $1 billion operating budget. This fall, undergraduates will pay $42,200 in annual tuition, room and board.
Princeton also continues to have one of the largest college endowments in the world. Last month, the university announced its $11 billion in investments are doing well enough for the school to award an additional $24.8 million to various departments to help cover rising energy costs, buy books for the campus library, increase Internet bandwidth on campus and complete other projects.
Still, the private colleges hope the Ivy League school is back in the New Jersey budget again next year, proving that all private colleges are providing a valuable service to the state, Wilson said.
"We've always thought of ourselves as a good investment," Wilson said.
Budget 101: State erases Princeton aid
When the state Legislature passed the new state budget over the weekend, it contained a surprise one-sentence footnote denying state aid to any colleges "with endowments in excess of $1 billion."
It didn't take long for Princeton University officials to realize that meant their school, and only their school.
Princeton, which has an $11 billion endowment, was slated to receive about $538,000 in state aid in this year's budget. Thanks to the footnote, the Ivy League school will get nothing.
Though the loss of a few hundred thousand dollars will have little impact on one of the wealthiest institutions in the world, Princeton officials were not happy with the snub.
"We do understand that this was a difficult budget year," said Cass Cliatt, a Princeton spokeswoman. "Our greater concern would be the proverbial slippery slope."
Allowing lawmakers to exclude one university from the budget sets a dangerous precedent, Cliatt said. In future years, one -- or all -- of New Jersey's private colleges might find themselves off the list.
"We would anticipate that the state will continue to support independent colleges," Cliatt said.
State officials made no excuses for cutting out Princeton in a year when New Jersey was struggling to stay out of the red.
"The Legislature felt strongly that, given our state's limited resources, we had to target our expenditures at those institutions that needed it most," said Brendan Gilfillan, a spokesman for Gov. Jon Corzine.
No other private university in New Jersey comes close to having a $1 billion endowment. Drew University, with $225 million, and Seton Hall University, with $182 million, come closest, according to the latest available tax records.
New Jersey has a long tradition of giving taxpayer dollars to all 14 private, nonprofit colleges and universities in the state, regardless of their size or wealth. In 1979, with the Independent College and University Assistance Act, the state became one of the few in the nation to award direct state aid to the schools each year as an acknowledgment of their public mission and contribution to the state's economy.
The aid is awarded based on the number of New Jersey undergraduates at each institution. The idea is to encourage private colleges to open their doors and offer scholarships to local students. Higher education officials say that is important in a crowded state with a shortage of space at Rutgers and the state's other public colleges.
Princeton enrolled 610 New Jersey undergraduates last year, according to campus statistics. Garden State residents made up about 13 percent of the class, second only to students from New York.
Because the rest of New Jersey's independent colleges enroll higher percentages of state residents, Princeton usually receives the smallest portion of the state funding.
With Princeton excluded, this year's $19.5 million in state aid will be divided among the 13 other private colleges: Bloomfield College, Caldwell College, Centenary College, College of Saint Elizabeth, Drew University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Felician College, Georgian Court University, Monmouth University, Rider University, St. Peter's College, Seton Hall University and Stevens Institute of Technology.
Despite the Princeton snub, the private colleges did well in the last-minute budget haggling in Trenton. They originally were slated for a $12 million cut from last year's $24 million appropriation. But the schools got $7.5 million back in the last-minute negotiations with the help of Senate President and former Gov. Richard Codey.
The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in New Jersey, which lobbies for the private colleges in Trenton, is unsure which lawmaker put the Princeton footnote in the budget, said John B. Wilson, the association's president.
The governor's office did not name the author of the footnote yesterday.
Wilson said he's heard several versions of how the footnote got in the budget, but he hasn't been able to determine the source.
"We are worried about the precedent it sets," Wilson said. "This is a short-term solution to a financial issue."
Lawmakers also cut Princeton out of the budget in the mid-1990s during another tough budget year, school officials said. But the university was back in the budget the following summer.
The missing $538,000 in state aid represents a small fraction of Princeton's $1 billion operating budget. This fall, undergraduates will pay $42,200 in annual tuition, room and board.
Princeton also continues to have one of the largest college endowments in the world. Last month, the university announced its $11 billion in investments are doing well enough for the school to award an additional $24.8 million to various departments to help cover rising energy costs, buy books for the campus library, increase Internet bandwidth on campus and complete other projects.
Still, the private colleges hope the Ivy League school is back in the New Jersey budget again next year, proving that all private colleges are providing a valuable service to the state, Wilson said.
"We've always thought of ourselves as a good investment," Wilson said.
