Southeast regents will meet today to vote on budgets

The Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents will look to approve the school’s general operating and auxiliary budgets for fiscal 2017 when it meets today in St. Louis.

University officials have proposed a $114 million operating budget, an increase of about $2 million over the current year’s budget.

“It is an extremely small increase,” said Kathy Mangels, vice president for finance and administration. “We are cautious in how we budget.”

The fiscal year begins July 1.

The regents also will be asked to approve the operating budgets for the university’s auxiliary departments totaling $37.8 million. Auxiliary operations include student housing, the Show Me Center, Student Recreation Center and parking and transit services, among others. Such operations are self-supporting and do not receive state funding.

The board is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. in the Drury Inn St. Louis at Union Station. The regents plan to continue their work in an open-session retreat from 1:45 to 5:30 p.m.

The regents are scheduled to reconvene at 8 a.m. Friday for a closed-door meeting.

Board president Jay Knudtson said the regents plan to discuss a performance evaluation of university president Carlos Vargas-Aburto during the two-day session. Vargas has a four-year contract that ends June 30, 2019, but his performance and compensation are up for review annually, Knudtson said.

As for the budget, Knudtson called it “very conservative.”

Mangels said the general operating budget reflects $1.9 million in increased state appropriations for the coming fiscal year.

Student fees and state funding make up the bulk of the general operating budget. Student fees, which reflect no change in undergraduate rates, are expected to generate more than $63.2 million, and state funding would provide more that $47.8 million.

In addition, the budget includes more than $59,000 in savings from implementing a credit-card service fee and administering the school’s short-term disability program in-house, she said.

Southeast also projects more than $148,000 in increased revenue from rebates on online transactions, increased late payment and international processing fees, and increased enrollment in web and summer courses.

Salaries and benefits total $84.3 million, accounting for more than half of anticipated spending, budget documents show.

The general operating budget includes 1.5 percent merit pay raises for faculty and staff.

Academic affairs, which encompasses all the university’s colleges, has a proposed budget of $56.5 million, the largest of six spending divisions, according to budget documents.

Institutional services is budgeted at $27.5 million. Southeast expects to spend $16.3 million for finance and administration, and another $6 million-plus each on enrollment management and athletics. Spending for university advancement, which deals with fundraising, is expected to total more than $1.2 million.

Among the auxiliary budgets, the largest category is residence life, which operates student housing. Residence life is budgeted at $25.5 million for the coming fiscal year.

Other major categories include student recreation center, $2.8 million; textbook services, $2.1 million; Show Me Center, $1.58 million; parking and transit, $1.58 million; university center, $1.4 million; and telecommunications, $1.16 million.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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