Legislators are expected to meet in Atlanta today to go over proposals from Georgia's 35 colleges and universities to cut $565 million from their budgets. The schools were told to make the proposals last week after lawmakers said Gov. Sonny Perdue's original demand of $265 million in cuts didn't go far enough.
      If enacted, the cuts mean at least 25 percent less state funding for all schools. For Georgia Southern the reduction would be $25.7 million out of $88 million or almost 30 percent. At the University of Georgia, $104 million would be cut and Georgia State University would see a reduction of about $72 million.
      The numbers are nothing less than staggering. And would deal a blow to higher education in our state that might set us back a decade or more. At Georgia Southern, that would be a fact in real numbers. Georgia Southern president Dr. Brooks Keel said Monday that the cuts would reduce GSU's state funding to the same level it was in 1998 when the university had 14,000 students. Keel said about 20,000 students are expected on campus for the Fall 2010 semester.
      To his credit, Keel was blunt, and dead on, with his assessment of the proposed cuts Georgia Southern submitted to legislators:
      "If faced with the magnitude of cuts currently being proposed, the Georgia Southern we all know and love today will look dramatically different tomorrow."
      And he didn't mean it would look dramatically different in a good way. Some of the proposals on the table include:
* The elimination of 63 full-time temporary faculty positions and 54 part-time faculty positions.
* 67 staff positions would either not be filled or replaced if someone retires.
* Having six furlough days for all staff.
* Cutting the state subsidies for such educational outreach programs as Continuing Education, Museum, Wildlife Center, PAC, Coastal Georgia Center, Dublin facility.
* Reducing the athletic department budget by $1 million.
* Declaring financial exigency, which means tenured faculty members could have their contracts terminated.
      Keel could have extended his comments to every public college and university in the state. Like Georgia Southern, many colleges are anticipating record enrollment in the fall. With the proposed cuts, we believe the state of Georgia would not be capable of delivering the education enrolled students are paying for and deserve. Simple arithmetic is all that's needed to make that case.
      So, in economic times unlike any since the Great Depression, what can be done to stop legislators from passing cuts that would devastate the mission of Georgia Southern and higher education in Georgia?
      A projected $1.1 billion shortfall in the budget is not just going to disappear. And while the University System of Georgia accounts for about $2 billion of the state's $17 billion budget, cutting $565 million from the system would do the state more long-term harm than can be calculated.
      Cutting funding is necessary, but it can't be the only solution lawmakers consider. Just like raising tuition can't be the only thing the Board of Regents and colleges consider. Looking at ways to increase revenue must be on the table for legislators.
      In Bulloch and other counties around Georgia, residents voted to create the Education Special Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST). The penny tax is dedicated primarily to capital projects and all the new schools in Bulloch were built almost entirely with funds collected from ESPLOST.
      Perhaps a one-penny College Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax could be considered in a vote on a county-by-county basis to create a funding source for Georgia colleges and universities. A sales tax also means that everyone who buys something subject to the tax, whether they are a state resident, a student, or a visitor from Maryland would contribute to the funding.
      While only a small percentage of people attend college at any one time, a college-educated work force benefits entire communities and, indeed, the state. Here in Bulloch County and the region as a whole, Georgia Southern is the largest employer and the biggest economic engine outside of Savannah. Every college in the state is economically vital to the community and region it serves.
      As much as we hate to say it, Georgia Southern will be less of a university in the fall if it loses $25.7 million in state funding. Indeed, the same will be true for all 35 of the schools in Georgia's University System if 25 percent of their funding is cut.
      Gov. Sonny Perdue and legislators need to hear from as many people as possible that cutting 30 percent from GSU's state funding is irresponsible and damaging to our state's long-term future.
      Georgia Southern has set up a Web site - georgiasouthern.edu/budget - that posts regular updates on the crisis and also offers easy links to contact the governor and legislators. We urge you to go to the site and let your voice be heard.
      Like all of us, every state agency must tighten its belt to get through the tough economic times. We fear, however, that belt may become a noose around the neck of higher education if such draconian cuts are enacted.