SD21 - Report of the SJR 90 Joint Subcommittee on Methods of Financing Replacement of Obsolete or Unusable Equipment in Institutions of Higher Education

  • Published: 1986
  • Author: General Assembly. Joint Subcommittee
  • Enabling Authority: Senate Joint Resolution 90 (Regular Session, 1985)

Executive Summary:
The joint subcommittee was appointed pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 90 of the 1985 Session to investigate financing options for the efficient and timely replacement of obsolete and unusable equipment at Virginia's public institutions of higher education. The subcommittee also was directed to consider alternatives for equitable distribution of any resources made available through a financing option.

ACTIVITIES OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE

The subcommittee met five times during the year in an effort to define the magnitude of the equipment problem and determine the best solution. The following topics were covered in these meetings:

• National Science Foundation report on the state of instruction equipment in higher education;

• SCHEV study of equipment needs in Virginia;

• The condition of existing equipment at Virginia's colleges and universities and its impact on instructional programs;

• Actions taken by other states to address equipment deficiencies and related funding;

• Definition of programs and types of equipment that would be dealt with through any type of extraordinary funding measure;

• Financing options for a Virginia program;

• System of administrative controls for equipment acquisition.

In addition to SCHEV and subcommittee staff, input was provided from the following individuals:

Dr. Ray C. Hunt, Jr., University of Virginia
Dr. Jonas F. Hockaday, Jr., Virginia Community College System
Dr. Edgar A. Starke, Jr., University of Virginia
Dr. John C. Jamison, College of William and Mary
Dr. Carlos Kruytbosch, National Science Foundation
Mr. Michael B. Goldstein, State Higher Education
Executive Officers
Mr. Stuart W. Connock, Secretary of Finance
Dr. Donald J. Finley, Secretary of Education
Mr. Walter W. Craigie, Jr., Wheat First Securities, Inc.
Mr. Harry Frazier III, Hunton and Williams
Mr. Robert Dean Pope, Hunton and Williams

Two advisory groups were established to discuss technical and legal aspects of matters under consideration. The advisory groups included representatives of the investment banking and legal communities and the Secretaries of Finance and Education.

ISSUES CONSIDERED BY THE JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE

(1) The appropriate standard for State replacement of educational equipment; i.e., to what degree should "state of the art" be pursued.

(2) Priority areas for concentration of State effort.

(3) Delineation of the types of equipment to be considered under an extraordinary effort.

(4) Factors which should limit access to a new program of equipment acquisition.

(5) Estimate of the immediate need for educational equipment and realistic financing alternatives.

(6) Role of the State Council of Higher Education in distributional decisions and administrative control.