Update: General Assembly yanks $8 million in Columbus State funding

Columbus State University lost nearly $8 million in capital funding Tuesday when the Georgia General Assembly approved a final budget and sent it to Gov. Nathan Deal for his signature.

The budget that went before a joint House/Senate conference committee to work out the differences between the two proposed budgets included the money CSU was seeking to furnish and equip new science labs and to renovate the existing main campus library.

The $23.7 billion budget that emerged for the committee and overwhelmingly passed the House and Senate had stripped all of CSU’s capital funding. The conference committee consisted of three Republican senators, Jack Hill of Reidsville, Bill Cowsert of Athens and David Schafer of Duluth, and three Republican representatives, Jan Jones of Milton, Jon Burns of Newington and Terry England of Auburn.

Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus, the chairman of the Columbus delegation and the senior member of the General Assembly, said the reason behind the decision will have to come from one of the conference committee members. A person in England’s office said he was unavailable.

CSU President Chris Markwood said Wednesday the university was not given a reason, but he had heard from some members of the Columbus delegation that the funding might be in trouble.

“We had been aware that the $5.9 million for the library expansion was in jeopardy, and we were with a number of city and state leaders to try and shore up support,” he said. “We were not aware the entire $8 million was at risk.”

CSU was the only University System of Georgia institution to have all of its requested funding removed from the final budget.

“We have not had any direct reasons for this,” Markwood said. “It is a real disappointment and ultimately it is our students who will get hurt.”

CSU operates on an annual budget of about $118 million. That funding is not impacted by what happened Tuesday. Neither is the new $25 million College of Education and Health Professions under construction in downtown Columbus. The addition to the downtown campus is being done with private funds through the Columbus State University Foundation.

Retired Synovus Chairman and CSU graduate Jimmy Yancey said he was disappointed by news.

“That money would have been put to good use, and the students of Columbus State University would have greatly benefited from it,” he said.

The news of the state pulling the funding comes as CSU has raised about $70 million of a $105 million campaign.

In the 2015 legislative session, the Board of Regents asked for $17.4 million to fund the CSU library project, work on another building on the main campus and demolish Woodall Hall. When the budget was finalized, CSU received $11.87 million.

This year, the university was asking for that balance plus about $2 million for equipment to go in the new laboratory sciences building that was approved last year.

Neither of the construction projects, both on the main campus, have started.

Sen. Josh McKoon, R-Columbus, pointed out that the only “missing money” at this point is for equipping the building post construction.

“Those funds I am told won’t be needed until the following fiscal year; so it was deemed unnecessary to forward funding in this year’s budget for expenditures that won’t be made until the next fiscal year,” he said.

McKoon said the projects have not been derailed and they continue to move forward. He pointed out that more than $10 million allocated in the current fiscal year budget will be available in June.

“They have the money they need to get through this year,” McKoon said.

CSU project funds were reallocated to projects with more immediate funding needs, said Kaleb McMichen, a spokesman for Speaker of the House David Ralston.

Rep. Debbie Buckner, D-Columbus, said she did not know why the funding was pulled. Rep. Richard Smith, R-Columbus, was leading the delegation effort to get the funding, she said.

“We divided up the workload and Richard was handling this for us,” Buckner said.

Smith did not return requests for comment. Other members of the Columbus legislative delegation could not be immediately reached for comment.

“Chairman Richard Smith is a tireless advocate for the Columbus area and Columbus State University and his advocacy figures heavily into the investments the state has already made and will make in the future in the university,” McMichen said.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 9:48 AM with the headline "Update: General Assembly yanks $8 million in Columbus State funding."