Message from President Walker

["President's Office" <auemail@groupwise1.duc.auburn.edu>]

May 16 , 2001

Dear Members of the Auburn Community:

With only a few days left in the regular session of the Alabama Legislature, the issue of funding for education has reached a critical point. The House will be voting on SB626 * a Senate-passed bond bill that has been deemed bad business by every conscionable person in the Legislature and beyond.

The "loser protection plan" the bill contains is supported by Gov. Don Siegelman and the Alabama Education Association. It would give the bond proceeds to whichever party loses the pending Supreme Court case over Higher Education's request for equal treatment of K-12 and Higher Education in periods of proration.

As I've noted before, to borrow $110 million that will cost $250 million to pay back is bad public policy. The state of Alabama is so poorly off that it will have to borrow the money to pay back the first installment on this loan. 

Please immediately call or email your House member and urge a vote against the bond bill * Senate Bill 626. Your calls, emails and letters have already made a difference in Higher Education's treatment by the Legislature this year.  A strong message now from us can help change some key votes in the anticipated showdown.

Representative Mike Hubbard has been extremely supportive of our position, and we are most grateful to him. The names and telephone numbers for other House members can be found at:

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/house/representatives/houseroster_alpha.html . 

If your representative has an e-mail address, you can find out what it is by clicking on your representative's name as listed at this "houseroster" website. You can also leave a message for your House member by calling this number: (334) 242-7600.  Again, I very much appreciate the actions you are taking in support of Auburn University and all of education.

Sincerely,

William F. Walker 
Interim President