The Daily News Of The Virgin Islands

V.I. College Is Likely To Mean Higher Taxes

This concludes a series of four articles dealing with the proposed College of the Virgin Islands. They have been based on a study prepared by two prominent stateside educators, Dr. Howard L. Jones and F. Gordon Boyce, which was submitted to Governor Paiewonsky and in turn referred to the Legislature.

Dr. Jones as president of the Northfield Schools in Massachusetts and Mr. Boyce is now serving with the Peace Corps,

Financing the proposed $2,250,000 College of the Virgin Islands is a matter of grave concern for the Legislature and, according to the Boyce-Jones report, a special local tax levy might be required.

As mentioned in previous articles, construction costs are estimated at $320,675. Then follows a capital outlay of $2,250,000 for construction. But this is far from the whole picture.

The preliminary report now before the Legislature estimates an annual operating budget of nearly a half-million dollars of which only $180,000 might be recovered from tuition and room and board.

A breakdown of the annual budget will show later in this article.

A careful study of the Boyce-Jones report turns up some financial questions that require attention. First, the planners expect "someone" to "donate" 25 acres of Tu Tu real estate for the campus . . . an optimistic suggestion to say the least.

Second, the report makes no provision to amortize federal loans although it does include $50,000 to pay interest. Nor is there any provision for scholarship or student aid programs which could be an expensive addition to the annual budget.

Third, the report hopefully expects a vast fund raising program to take up a big slice of the initial costs. Prime targets include the Ford, Carnegie and Rockefeller Foundations. Then private gifts to the tune of $2,000,000 are suggested with the whimsical footnote: "Such gifts are, we think, possible with careful and intelligent planning."

These gifts would be solicited by the Director of Development in the following amounts: 2 gifts at $250,000, 5 gifts at $100,000, 10 gifts at $50,000 and 20 gifts at $25,000.

Then the report claims there are literally thousands of persons who have visited and fallen in love with the Virgin Islands and these should be approached through lists supplied by hotel and resort registers.

It is estimated that 75 per cent of the estimated capital costs could be met through the Federal

Initial Federal College Program at 3 per cent interest repayable over 40 years.

The major decision facing the government is in the area of the annual operating budget. This cost, estimated at $490,000 (and this may be 25 per cent off actual costs), breaks down as follows:

Salaries: administrative, faculty, library, nursing, secretarial and maintenance $240,000; food and preparation, $100,000; interest on federal loans (3 per cent x $1,500,000) $50,000; supplies and maintenance, $50,000; printing

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travel, telephone, insurance, etc., $40,000 and miscellaneous and contingency $10,000.

Balanced against these costs is a predicted income of $108,000 from room and board for 200 students (at $540 apiece) and $72,000 from tuition ($360 per student). This leaves a net annual operating cost of $320,675.

At this point the report suggests consideration of a local tax levy to offset the deficit.

Income should be accruing from various sources to offset annual operating costs in some degree, the report noted. We are firm advocates of charging tuition for those who can afford it, with a counterpart student aid program for those who can't.

"We suggest a tuition of $10 per week for 36 weeks plus board and room of $15 per week. A schedule of higher payments should be worked out for extra-Caribbean students," the report said.

Although the report said "various sources" the only sources listed are tuition and room and board and the aforementioned ambitious fund raising program. The balance, apparently, will be met through annual legislative appropriations perhaps supported by an additional tax levy.

Gifts to the institution would be tax exempt and would be administered by a specially-created college foundation this avoiding the taint of legislative or political control. The matter of control of such funds must be made absolutely clear to the public," the report said.