Education among the ruins
Buildings bear brunt of budget cuts
By Ann Portal
Oftha Emerald
Those ivy-covered buildings and mossy window
sills aren’t there for effect They're the product of
neglect — the most visible evidence of declining dollars
for higher education
The University and the other state higher education
institutions have starved physical plant budgets for the
past 10 years, as they try to hold on to programs, faculty
and services. Their campuses show it.
University buildings, tunnels and grounds have
reached the breaking point, says Harold Babcock,
physical plant director And he says he doesn't foresee
the Legislature providing extra maintenance funds in
the near future.
The campus’s beautiful grounds and old buildings
may look nice, but part of their appeal — their aging
appearance — is the result of 30 to 50 years of deter
ioration. Babcock says
ONLY EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE is taken care
of, he says, and routine "preventative” maintenance
has had to wait That maintenance has waited too long
Now the University must consider replacing — rather
than repairing — large parts of the campus And soon
"We're there now — but how do we convince
people we re there now?” Babcock asks
Curt Simic, vice president for University relations,
says that of the five or six schools he’s worked at, the
condition of the University is the worst he’s seen
"We've got two years to make or break,” Simic
predicts To illustrate the effect of not having an
adequate maintenance program, he points to the
window sills at Susan Campbell Hall, where his office is
located Physical plant workers had to replace the sills
this year because the University couldn’t afford to paint
them during earlier years
The University's physical plant has a $4 million
budget this year, but most of the money is tied up in
wages, Babcock says The University gives him a lump
sum each year for running the plant, and he divides the
money among different areas
For the last 10 years, that money hasn’t gone far
enough to pay for much preventative maintenance, thus
each emergency puts the budget in the hole, he says
"It seems to me that we just haven’t had enough
monies to have a good basic maintenance program,"
he says "It's been stacking up as long as I've been
here."
He says the physical plant crew concentrates on
emergency maintenance to keep "the disasters" from
happening Safety valves are flushed, cracked pipes —
when discovered — are replaced But some classrooms
haven’t been painted for more than 20 years, he says
THE IMPACT OF MAINTENANCE PROBLEMS are
more than cosmetic Physical education classes in
Geriinger are restricted to those that don't include
jumping The floor can't take jumping, Babcock says
At McArthur Court, the old floor used to be sanded
when it got too rough, but the wood can't take another
sanding, Babcock says The floor "looks good and
works all right," thanks to frequent buffings and finish
ings, he says
Two of Babcock's top priorities are areas noticed
least by the public: replacing roofs and checking pipes
Most money wrung out of the physical plant budget last
year (Babcock can choose where to spend savings at
the fiscal year's end) went toward rebuilding and
coating roofs
The physical plant “cuts corners all the time" to try
Deteriorated moldings at Geriinger Hall, including movement of brick cap
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and get those extra funds, Babcock says
Even with a lot of scrimping, people and weather
can throw a wrench in the physical plant's budget
Someone went 4-wheeling on an athletic field during
this winter s snowstorm, and reseeding must come out
of the physical plant’s budget Expensive sand-blasting
to remove grafitti also eats up the budget. Babcock
says
The Legislature does offer some assistance to
higher education institutions in an amount given an
nually to the State Board of Higher Education for
"physical plant rehabilitation ”
That fund, which pays for emergency maintenance
and minor building projects, is portioned among the
eight colleges and universities The account hit a high
of $713,107 during the 1980-81 academic year but
dipped to a meager $76,278 this year, according to Jack
Hunderup, vice chancellor for facilities planning
EASTERN OREGON STATE COLLEGE already used
$34,000 on boiler problems, leaving $42,000 for emer
gencies at any of the eight institutions during the
remainder of the academic year Hunderup says
He says he's had to turn down numerous requests
so far this year, though none from the University "They
know that there are no resources available," so they
don't bother asking he says
Hunderup says institutions may be reaching the
point where money must be diverted from academic
areas to maintenance
"Clearly, the institutions will have to spend some
money for maintenance and repair or they will have to
close some buildings," he says
Ray Hawk, vice president for administration and
finance, says the University administration has always
talked about retaining faculty, programs and research
— at the expense of the physical plant
"When push comes to shove, the presidents would
always cut the physical plant," he says But there is a
law of diminishing returns, and it is no longer prudent to
cut maintenance dollars. Hawk says
Babcock says the University administration is as
fair as they can be " But he knows the pipes continue to
deteriorate and roof tiles continue to warp
"All we can do is keep pointing out the dangers and
the problems we are having," he says
Photos courtesy of the University Physical Plant