Date: 30 Nov. ‘06
TO: The South Central Kansas Legislative Delegation
FROM: Shocker Black & Golds
RE: Double Taxation of Sedgwick County Taxpayers
as a Result of
Corrupt Board of Regents Policy
Dear Legislators:
We write in regard to a kind of perpetuated tyranny of policy, insidious and pernicious in nature, that as a matter of good government and simple fairness, and the proper use of our Sedgwick County tax moneys, should no longer be condoned by the legislature.
The policy of which we speak, is a policy of the Board of Regents initiated by the Board when the Board was monopolistic controlled by Kansas University, that was falsely stated initially and has been falsely continued to new regent members of the Board, notwithstanding the clear instruction of the Kansas legislature in 2000, S.B. 345, to preclude Kansas University or any other university of the state from monopolistic control of the Board, through the alumni members of one university having control of policies and expenditures of moneys by the Board.
KU has continued its effective control of the Board now: through the process of control of the president and CEO position of the Board and his ability to set the monthly Agenda for consideration by the regent members of the Board; coupled with presentation of a false policy that never was the policy, statute or otherwise, of the legislature in the first instance.
When WSU came into the State system of higher education in 1964, the legislature required Wichita residents to pass a 1.5 mill levy for the purpose of paying off the then existing capital improvement debt of the university, consisting of about $1.5 million on then Henry Levit Arena, for the stated purpose that the assets of the university could be transferred to the State debt free. This debt has been paid off decades ago, but the City and now the County have continued the 1.5 mill levy on a year to year basis, without any further vote of the tax paying populous.
However, the falsely asserted legislative policy: initiated by the KU folks when KU continually held monopolistic control of the regents and the Board, including at least as early as 1964 when WSU came into the State system until 2000 and S.B. 345, enacted a year after president Beggs was requested to apply and then was selected by KU folks to be the next president of WSU; was that the legislature required the 1.5 mill levy for WSU capital improvements, and that the legislature meant that WSU was to have no consideration for the State’s Board of Regents Capital Improvement Budget. Nothing could be further from the truth, but incredibly, this intentional dissimulation to new Board members, to say it kindly, has been continued by KU folks through continued assertion to the Board of the falsely stated and asserted legislative policy, as late as the October 19th 2006 Board meeting, by KU regent Dick Bond.
And, God forbid, that the next president of WSU, or any future president of WSU, should ever again be selected by KU folks, who in justice should have nothing to do with the process, if for no other reason than their clear conflict of interest. No KU folks would ever allow a single WSU alum on any KU selection committee, as it would be considered not the business of anyone else but KU folks. They would howl in protest till it did not occur.
The result of this falsely asserted legislative policy, is clearly to double tax Sedgwick County tax payers uniquely in the state from any other county. We are required to pay taxes directly to the state to support higher education, and the State’s Board of Regent Capital Improvements Budget, which moneys are then distributed to the other universities in the state; but by falsely asserted legislative Board policy, WSU is not considered for any of the State’s Board of Regents Capital Improvements Budget.
Instead, the Board requires WSU to obtain any moneys for new capital improvements projects from the 1.5 City/County mill levy for WSU; and then in affect, transfers WSU’s fair share of State Board of Regent Capital Improvements Budget, to KU, so that KU ends up with twice the amount for K-State, and WSU receives zero.
The total for projects approved on the State’s Board of Regents Capital Improvements Budget as of 2007, is $727,197,150; projects completed, $291,978,282; and State moneys presently provided totaled $150,058,212. KU had approved $435,346,403 or 59.9 percent of the total, with 70.4 percent of the money, $130,570,522, for the presently completed projects being funded by State funds. Presently, KU even takes their self provided and allotted State provided money first, at the rate of 87 percent, $130,570,522 ÷ $150,058,212 = 87 percent. KSU had approved $210,463,920 or 28.9 percent of the total. WSU has received zero, nada, nothing from the State Board of Regents Capital Improvements Budget; and only $145,000 in state general funds for a campus energy plant study.
Shortly put, it seems precisely the case that the 29 percent K-State number, that in fairness and equity should have also been the WSU proportionate share, in fact went to KU’s approximate 29 percent number, to in effect produce twice as much money for KU? And if not so, why precisely isn’t that the practical affect? WSU received zero, and KU received WSU’s fair share, so as to double the moneys to KU.
At the present percentage of state moneys, 70.4 percent, KU with $435 million in 22 approved new capital improvements projects, is on pace to receive some $306 million in state moneys. Pursuant to the falsely asserted legislative policy of the Board, WSU will receive zero. This procedure the KU folks find to be proper, copasetic, equitable and just. The Shocker Black & Golds consider it no less than corrupt. And, when we bring this falsely asserted legislative policy of the Board, to the Boards attention and ask for the full Board to consider the issue; president and CEO of the Board, KU alum Regie Robinson, refuses to place the issue on the monthly Agenda for the full Boards consideration.
In the 42 years that WSU has been in the state system, the Board of Regents has built no new building for WSU, while spending 100's of million for KU and K-State. The debt service on WSU’s new engineering lab building additions, principle and interest, is some $900,000 a year to the year 2017, for Series 2005D Revenue Bonds.
The mill levy request asks for a slot of $900,000 a year for land acquisition around the campus, and if not used for that, the notes say it will be used for campus facilities, and if not for that it will go to the fund for the new engineering lab building. This $900,000 annual slot is precisely the $900,000 needed to debt service the Series 2005D Revenue Bonds identified on the mill levy.
We ask the South Central Kansas Legislative Delegation for its help in requesting that State appropriations for the State’s Board of Regents Capital Improvements Budget, be applied to WSU also; and that at minimum, the Board agree to take over the debt service on the WSU new engineering lab buildings; so that we can free up the $900,000 a year on the mill levy to solve our loss of traditional student 20 year old problem.
Not only does chancellor Hemenway and the KU folks presently preclude any consideration for State’s Board of Regents Capital Improvements Budget for WSU, in order to effectively double the available state funds for capital improvements for KU; but we contend that it is also all about money, that chancellor Hemenway and the KU folks committed president Beggs not to reinstate football at WSU, so as to require traditional students in the Wichita Area to go to KU and K-State, thereby increasing the first years worth of tuition for each new student above the base line, that KU and K-State are allowed to keep. WSU is the only tuition accountability school in the state that has not increased students and been thereby allowed to keep tuition for new students for the first year, but has lost students from the base line year, and has been required to make up the difference.
WSU’s fall enrollment in 1986 when the Board or Regents suspended WSU football, stood at 16,843 – 442 less than K-State with the Board then emphasizing football at K-State. It is at 14,298 this fall. But what the basic statistics presented fail to consider, is the number of additional mill levy scholarships that were issued to mask and cover the affect of the suspension of football and the loss of traditional students at the time of said suspension.
The statistics additionally fail to consider, how many foreign students were recruited at the time to help cover the loss of traditional students. There has been an influx of foreign students, particularly Asian students coming on scholarships to study engineering at WSU. These students knew and cared nothing about American football, but came for the engineering education, to then mostly return to their homeland.
Accordingly, at the present time, the 14,298 number this fall, is in reality overstated, but for the some 2000 scholarships we now have funded on the mill levy. In reality, if we weren’t out buying students with mill levy money, including free meals, $11,000 a year scholarships, free dorm lodging, and two free basketball tickets; and recruiting additional foreign students; we would realistically be looking at, and we should be saying relative to the loss of traditional students, that our enrollment was some 12,000 students, not the actual 14,298. We have accordingly lost in traditional students, at least some 5000 students since we suspended football in 1986, and in any case are now down 9000 in actual students to where we were with K-State in 1986. Please note that since we can presently give away free dorm lodging, we have the space that apparently isn’t being used, so we could also give free dorm space as part of football scholarships, rather than requiring and attributing a payment to the university as part of the scholarship cost.
Moreover, the most current NCAA statistics studies that exist, find: ”A direct measurable relationship between the suspension of football and the loss of students”. Also, the most directly relevant Kansas experience, is evidenced by the K-State vis-a-vis WSU experience starting in 1986. WSU was gaining students and was being projected to shortly surpass K-State (not an insignificant point in history), with then 442 students less that K-State, with K-State at 17,285 students, and WSU at 16,843. Now K-State is at 23,151 with WSU at 14,298 and the delta difference is some 9000 students. Those figures do not lie, and speak for themselves.
The Board of Regents hired president Wefald and charged him with stopping the precipitous bleeding of students and to emphasis football, as K-State had won one game in the previous ten years in the then Big 8 Conference, was written up in Sports Illustrated as the worst football program in the history of the sport, and was actively being talked about by Big 8 Conference officials, as being a candidate to be ejected from the league. If so, there was concern KU might be next, as the KU football program was shambling along not much better than K-State. At the same time the then KU controlled Board of Regents determined to suspend football at WSU. As a result, the Board simply transferred K-State’s loss of student problem to WSU in the form of a loss of traditional student problem, and in the process significantly damaged our university for the last 20 years.
We would ask the South Central Kansas Delegation for its help in support of debt service appropriation for WSU’s new engineering lab buildings, as if the Board of Regents picks up the debt service, it should have paid for in the first instance, it will greatly benefit tax paying citizens of Sedgwick County, just by allowing our $900,000 per year mill levy money to be used to solve our 20 year old loss of traditional student problem, that is a proper and just present determination of the issues, without the improper manipulation and control of the chancellor Hemenway and the KU folks.
Administering and running the state higher education regent system is a matter too factually involved and too time consuming for legislators to knowledgeably and timely understand the substance of the facts and matters considered and determined by the Board of Regents on a day to day basis. As a result, the legislature is fundamentally at the mercy of, and manipulated by, the Board of Regents. And, the Board of Regents is fundamentally manipulated by: chancellor Hemenway and the president-CEO of the Board, by the Agenda allowed to be put forth for consideration; as well as by the false representation, that the legislature at the time of WSU’s admission into the state system, meant to constrain WSU to the mill levy only for new capital improvements, and to preclude WSU from any consideration for moneys from the State’s Board of Regent Capital Improvements Budget. The statute said no such thing, and only KU folks with there monopolistic control initially established the Board policy, and continue the falsely alleged legislative policy, through their continued corruption of the State’s Board of Regent system.
Legislators can not rely upon truthful, and the most meritorious and proper representations and determinations, from a Board of Regents that is effectively controlled by one institution, that has its own perceived interests in mind. No one institution should have monopolistic or effective control of the Board of Regents, ever, let alone for at least the last 42 years as has KU. There is simply no justifiable basis for one institution to have effective control over the Board of Regents, and over a significant percent of the total state budget. Well over 1 billion dollars, is too tempting an amount, to allow one institution to have effective control of. We thought this issue of control was resolved by the legislature in 2000, by S.B. 345, but chancellor Hemenway has ignored the clear directive of the legislature and the statute, and currently continues his effective control of the Board and its capital improvement policy precluding WSU from consideration for State moneys.
We have tried to seek redress with the Board of Regents, but have been met with the corruption of the Boards administration. If the full Board is to right-about-turn, the involvement of the legislature will be necessary, as chancellor Hemenway and his committed deputy and agent on these issues, president Beggs, will not voluntarily submit to any degree of justice for WSU.
We ask for your consideration of the E-mail enclosures, and your help with correcting this unfair insidious and falsely alleged legislative policy that has existed on the Board of Regents for the last 42 years, to the great detriment to WSU and the current double taxation uniquely in the state, of Sedgwick County Tax payers. Now that the South Central Kansas Legislative Delegation is aware of the issue, there is no longer any reason for the problem to continue to exist.
In appreciation of your consideration of the above,
Respectfully requested,
Shocker Black & Golds
By:
Fred Marrs
• VISIT: Alumnishockerblackandgolds.com for additional position papers, facts and information.
cc: City Council
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