Tuition dollars going to the dump

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Sometimes the way government works just baffles me. Take the hoops that SDSU and every other state university have to jump through when they construct a new building. 

Funding for new buildings on campus can come from many sources, but education leaders have learned not to count on the state for much money. 

In theory, State, with the help of the SDSU Foundation, could raise all the funds for a building, pay for the plans and then still have to go ask the Legislature for permission to build it. 

I guess the Legislature gets a say because the building will be on state land. Still, with no state money involved, it seems to me that SDSU, or any state university, should be able to build what they want. We trust them to educate the next generation of leaders. It seems to me they should be savvy enough to know what kind of buildings they want without oversight from a Legislature that’s not going to spend any money on the building in the first place. 

But that’s not the way it works. SDSU raises the money and presents a plan to the Legislature. It seems pretty straightforward; a plan any right-thinking South Dakotan could endorse. But there always seem to be a few lawmakers that vote against these projects. Are they grinches or perhaps USD alums? 

It seems that some of them may be protesting. 

This came to light in a Community News Service story about a bill that would allow for the destruction of Scobey Hall. Even before I graced the SDSU campus with my presence, pranksters were changing the letters on the building’s sign to say “Scabey Hole.” 

With a name like that, the building has never been much loved. And it has not aged well, offering inhabitants a triple threat of chilling breezes in the winter, mold infestations and building materials made from asbestos. 

When the bill to authorize the destruction of the building came up for a vote in the Senate, the tally was 26-7. Scobey Hall had seven fans who wanted the building to keep standing, unwilling to pay the $593,000 budgeted for its destruction. 

An explanation for the nay votes came from Sen. Ryan Maher, a Republican from Isabel. Maher said he objected because student tuition funds would be used to pay for the building’s destruction. 

It seems that 20 cents from every tuition dollar goes to something called the Higher Education Facility Fund. It pays for maintenance and repairs and, in this case, turning Scobey Hall into a hole in the ground. 

Maher’s objection makes sense. Student tuition dollars should be spent on faculty salaries and curriculum, not floor wax and plumbing repairs. 

Quoted in the same story was Sen. V.J. Smith, a Brookings Republican, who said as a student leader at SDSU he and others complained about the use of HEFF funds for repairs and maintenance. Despite their protests, the practice continues. 

The use of tuition dollars for maintenance and repair just seems wrong. Maher said the Board of Regents is doing the equivalent of throwing tuition dollars into the landfill. Maher is right. There has to be a better way.

Billy McMacken is the publisher of The Brookings Register and will deny ever having changed the lettering on the sign at Scobey Hall. Contact him at bmcmacken@brookingsregister.com.