IN THE upcoming gubernatorial election, we Virginians will choose between two starkly different candidates, one who will continue to provide fiscally responsible leadership, and the other who will wreak the state's budget for short term political gain. One candidate believes in and has worked for full funding for public and higher education; the other has opposed bipartisan budget reform designed to remedy funding shortfalls. The differences between Tim Kaine and Jerry Kilgore could not be sharper. Kaine worked with Gov. Warner and Republicans in the state Senate to restore fiscally responsible, pro-education budget policies after the Gilmore administration. Jerry Kilgore obstructed the bipartisan, fiscally responsible, pro-education budget reform, illustrating his callousness to the necessity of adequately funded state services.
Kaine, the current lieutenant governor, visited the University on Monday to discuss his campaign for governor. He pledged to strive for additional funding for primary, secondary and higher public education. Specifically, he said he will continue to work to meet base adequacy funding for higher education and to create a four-year college in Southside, which is the only region of the state without a public four-year college or university.
Though the 2004 budget reform package passed by a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans reduced the base adequacy funding gap, state colleges and universities still need an additional two to four hundred million dollars in order to compete with other state college systems. Without meeting base adequacy funding -- which is per student funding equivalent to that of peer institutions -- there will continue to be unfilled faculty positions in the History Department, for instance, which limits students' ability to take the courses they need. Additionally, faculty pay, which is at the 27th percentile of peer institutions, will continue to stagnate.
Over the long run, this poses a threat to the quality of faculty at the University. If we are interested not only in the prestige of our University but also the quality of overall statewide higher education, we must elect a governor who has proven his commitment to fully funding higher education. Tim Kaine in his position as lieutenant governor has worked aggressively to pass budget reform and close the base adequacy funding gap. Evidently adequate funding for higher education is not a priority for Jerry Kilgore, for he was a vocal opponent of the budget reform package that increased funding for higher education.
Opening a new four-year college in Southside is as important as providing adequate funding for existing colleges and universities. The Martinsville Daily reports that Martinsville, which is near the border with North Carolina, has 14 percent unemployment, the highest in the state. Neighboring Patrick and Charlotte Counties each have 11 percent unemployment. By comparison, unemployment statewide is 3 percent. The lack of educational opportunity is an immense obstacle to economic development. Providing Southside residents the opportunity to attend a four-year college near their homes, which can be much more economical than going to distant colleges, is a necessary component of economic recovery for Southside. This is one reason the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia says there are "compelling merits" for a four-year college there.
Kilgore is emulating his Republican predecessors, George Allen and Jim Gilmore, by promising to cut total tax revenue and maintain services simultaneously. Obviously, this is impossible. As the budget crisis of 2001 illustrated, one cannot cut total tax revenue without also cutting services. Judging by Kilgore's opposition to last year's budget reform, cutting taxes will supercede the necessities of balanced budgets and funding for public.
Unfortunately, Kilgore does not appear to understand that it is possible to cut taxes for working class Virginians, raise them for the wealthy and increase funding for public services. That is precisely what last year's budget reform did. A synthesis of Gov. Warner's and Sen. John Chichester's, R-Stafford, proposals, it cut food taxes and lower bracket income taxes while raising upper bracket income taxes and the sales tax. It created a fairer tax system while restoring funding lost due to Allen and Gilmore's mismanagement.
Forbes magazine ranked Virginia the best-managed state in the country this year. The governor's race is an apt reminder that sound fiscal policies and political support for public education cannot be taken for granted. Four years ago, Virginia faced a devastating budget crisis due to demagogic politicking. If Virginia does not elect a gubernatorial candidate who understands the value of sound fiscal policies and adequate funding for education, we risk a return to the disastrous service cuts experienced after the fiscal negligence of the Gilmore administration.
Zack Fields' column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at zfields@cavalierdaily.com.
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