BGCT universities appeal for steady level of funding
___By Ferrell Foster
___Texas Baptist Communications
___DALLAS--Texas Baptist universities are growing, but they're also feeling a financial pinch caused by churches that have reduced or eliminated their support for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
___Gary Cook, president of Dallas Baptist University, spoke on behalf of the presidents of the BGCT's eight universities, to the BGCT Christian Education Coordinating Board Oct. 16. Cook asked the coordinating board members if they "could serve as advocates for us at this time."
___The schools "could use some more funds," he said.
___These financial challenges have come during a time when enrollment is climbing at BGCT schools, some reaching record levels. The presidents don't expect funding from the state convention to go up, Cook said, but they wish it would not go down.
___Since January, DBU, like the other schools, has received about 14 percent less money than the BGCT budget had anticipated. That's a loss of $180,000 so far this year.
___The 2002 BGCT budget, to be considered by messengers to next week's annual session, calls for another 10 percent decrease, Cook said. Added to this year's reduced funding, that translates to a $400,000 two-year loss for DBU.
___The school had anticipated some loss in revenue from the BGCT but "never dreamed we would lose $400,000," Cook said.
___DBU and the other schools are facing other financial challenges, as well, Cook reported. Giving from individual donors is down because of the slumping economy and the depressed stock market. Insurance costs will be up $300,000 at DBU this fiscal year. Utility costs have "skyrocketed." And on the expenditure side, teacher contracts already are set.
___On behalf of the university presidents, Cook made a specific plea that the coordinating board be their advocate in seeking to have $750,000 originally earmarked for Houston Baptist University be used for higher education rather than going into a BGCT contingency fund.
___The BGCT has held in escrow $1.6 million that would have gone to HBU due to that university's board of trustees unilateral vote to create a self-perpetuating majority on their board. Messengers to the BGCT annual session next week will consider a special agreement between the BGCT and HBU.
___If approved, the agreement calls for $100,000 of the escrowed funds to be used for Baptist student ministry at HBU. Of the remaining money, the Christian Education Coordinating Board will be instructed to distribute half "with a suggested priority of theological education," and the other half will be placed into BGCT contingency funds.
___"Maybe this is the rainy day these contingency funds have been held for," Cook said. "Instead of funds going to the contingency fund, maybe they could go to us."
___Later in the meeting, the coordinating board approved a plan for distribution of the other $750,000 in escrowed funds, contingent on messengers' endorsement of the HBU-BGCT agreement. The seven other Texas Baptist universities and San Marcos Baptist Academy would receive $579,416 of the total.
___The next biggest chunk, $100,000, would be disbursed to the Theological Education Committee for seminary scholarships and "to support expansion of entry-level theological education." Hispanic Baptist Theological School in San Antonio would receive $25,000, and another $25,000 would be "for use in special promotion and ministry projects." The balance, about $20,500, would remain unspent for now.
___One board member asked why half of the unallocated escrow money was suggested to go into a BGCT contingency fund and not be retained for use in Christian education.
___Roger Hall, BGCT chief financial officer, explained that budget allocations are made specifically for an individual institution. If the money doesn't go to that institution, it goes back into the contingency fund. The money in question was an allocation for Houston Baptist University and not for the Christian Education Coordinating Board, he said.
___In other action, the board approved a proposal to form a joint committee with the Human Welfare Coordinating Board to study the possibility of allowing BGCT institutions to "elect a minority portion of their own governing boards."
___Such a condition, if eventually proposed, would require a change in the BGCT constitution. Schools, hospitals, child-care agencies and other institutions affiliated with the BGCT are now required to have 100 percent of their trustees elected by messengers to the state convention, unless a "special agreement" has been reached between the BGCT and the entity.
___In recent years, several institutions have moved to special agreement relationships in order to have their boards of trustees elect a portion of future trustees.
___Members of the coordinating board's executive-finance committee have "tossed around some percentages" of what would be an acceptable level of non-BGCT-elected trustees, said Chairman Jerry Sawyer. The maximum discussed was 25 percent.
___Cook said most of the university presidents have been hesitant to pursue special agreements that would allow board members from non-BGCT churches because they did not want to cause a problem for the state convention. "We would rather you say to us, ... 'You can do it.'"
___A change similar to what is being discussed would allow the institutions to elect trustees who live out-of-state, as well, Cook said.
___The Human Welfare Coordinating Board will consider in January whether or not to join with the Christian Education Coordinating Board in looking at this issue.
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