As Michigan continues to struggle with a combined $3 billion budget deficit, a squabble has broken out between lawmakers and universities about funding.
As it stands, Michigan's "Big Three" universities — University of Michigan, Wayne State University and MSU — receive 57 percent of state funding, with the remaining 43 percent to be divided among the 12 remaining schools.
And while those numbers will remain constant, Gov. Jennifer Granholm has proposed two bills that will increase funding by 2.5 percent. The two bills, however, serve to separate the Big Three from the remaining 12.
This has caused the 12 universities and Republican lawmakers a great deal of concern, fearing that the two separate spending bills would set a precedent for unequal funding between the universities.
Essentially, the fear is that with two separate funding bills, the Big Three could receive even more money in the future than they already do, possibly by taking money away from the smaller schools. Or, if the state comes into a surplus, the Big Three could get a bigger piece of the funding simply because of their prestige.
While it does seem strange to propose separate consideration for the Big Three at the same time as a statewide university funding increase, the decision to consider MSU, U-M and Wayne State differently from other universities makes sense.
Michigan is in dire straits, and with the American auto industry tanking hard, health care is the state's top private employer. Combined, the Big Three are responsible for producing 1,000 attorneys, 500 doctors and 500 nurses — among other medical professionals — each year. In a state desperate for a stable workforce, it only makes sense to give particular consideration to the three largest schools capable of producing said workforce.
Although all the schools obviously contribute to the state's workforce, the Big Three are the ones in a position to best beef up Michigan's specialized, high-end workforce.
That is not to say that should another increase in funding come around, it shouldn't be distributed equally. It definitely should. But should a budgetary crisis finally deliver a crippling blow to the state, special consideration should be taken when cutting funding, and the Big Three's budget should be given separate consideration. If any schools hold the key to the salvation of Michigan's economy, they're the ones with medical and law schools.
Budgetary equality among the universities is something that Michigan should always strive for, but it is nice to have a contingency should something go wrong and budgets suddenly get slashed.
Granholm's plan should, however, only be used as last resort.
