Board of Trustees opposes Proposal 4
Greg BurghardtUniversity President Michael Rao proposed the resolution to the board, and said Healthy Michigan proposal seriously would affect Michigan public universities.
“The threat of losing a significant amount of money to supply stable access to higher education is of serious concern,” he said.
A coalition of hospitals and medical companies are lobbying for a constitutional amendment on the November general election ballot that would divert most of the state’s $8-billion tobacco settlement to health care causes.
The Citizens for a Healthy Michigan want nearly 90 percent of the annual $300 million Michigan will receive for 25 years from tobacco companies.
The Board’s resolution stated “the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees believes Proposal 4 is unwise public policy for the state of Michigan and accordingly would be harmful to higher education, health or any other major responsibility.”
Kathy Wilbur, vice president of Government Relations and Public Affairs, said CMU is ranked fourth in Michigan universities in terms of the amount of students receiving Michigan Merit Awards.
The tobacco settlement money, as designated by Gov. John Engler, is used to fund Michigan Merit Awards, and CMU receives almost $6 million because of those awards, Wilbur said.
The University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Western Michigan University rank higher than CMU, respectively.
“If it passes, it clearly changes the state constitution, taking away from funds earmarked for specific programs. Furthermore, there would be no legislative oversight on spending,” she said. “It would be a huge change in public policy.”
Roger Kerr, Central Michigan Community Hospital CEO, said as a hospital in the state of Michigan, CMCH definitely supports Proposal 4.
“I think it elevates the importance of delivering care to people of the state of Michigan at a higher level because of the redirection of monies coming to the state from the tobacco funds,” he said.
Kerr said health care has not been on Engler’s agenda as a priority during his term of office.
“Through his leadership, and the legislatures that have been in place, they have diverted money from health care to education, and we think that is wrong,” he said.
Monies from the tobacco settlement should go toward health care education to curb youth smoking and research for potential cures, Kerr said.
The board also approved a resolution stating, “(The Board of Trustees) believes that passage of Proposal 4 will seriously injure access to college, as well as the quality and quantity of higher education available to the citizens of Michigan.”
Trustees Jerry Campbell, James Fabiano, Nancy McKeague, Rajendra Vattikuti and Vice Chair Melanie Foster spoke via conference call during a special meeting Friday.
