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Show A BAR NONE EFFORT: Jamie Deetscreek's improvement has contributed to the Red Rock's success this season. seepage 6 Thursday, March 12,2009 THE DAILY U T www.doilyutahchronicle.com CHRONICLE The University of Utah's Independentstudent Voice Since 1890 Vol. 118 I No. 112! ©2009 One Last Hurrah ERIK DASNiTZ/lheOoilrlfiBhOncnklt Members of both the Revolution and GO parties made final campaign efforts to get out the vote on Wednesday, the last day to vote in ASUU elections. Visit www.dailyutahchronicle.com today for breaking election results. Health dept. Stimulus eases budget woes error costs school $10M 200 egislative ession Trent Lowe STAFF WRITER Lana Groves ASST. NEWS EDITOR About $10 million was eliminated from the U School of Medicine's budget because of a state health department funding error, but the money won't be reinstated even1 if the state wins the appeals process—which could mean the medical school won't enroll as many students. "We won't be able to use this source of funding for the medical school," said Kim Wirthlin, U vice president of government relations. "The combination of the loss of the $10 million, plus the loss of additional funds, means the School of Medicine will have effectively lost 40 percent of the money they had for teaching." Administrators for the medical school said this reduction would likely lead to cutting class sizes. The cut began when the Centers for Medicaid .and Medicare Services reported the state health department overbilled the federal department by requesting regular funds, including money for managed plans such as HMO, PPO, prepaid and other health care plans. CMS gives money to the Utah Department of Health based on the number of Medicaid and Medicare patients treated at University Hospitals and Clinics every year, and sends additional funds for residents' salaries and teaching at the medical school. "We have told the state for a couple years now that the way they were calculating it was just flat -out wrong," said Mike Fierberg, a spokesman for CMS in Denver. The School of Medicine, which was not suffering from state budget cuts as large as most departments on campus, is subject to a 40 percent budget cut and is begging for legislative assistance. "And when it comes down to the School of Medicine, the decision is irreversible," said medical school Dean David Bjorkman in February. The U had requested funding from the Utah Legislature but without any luck. Wirthlin said she and Bjorkman talked with several members of the executive appropriations committee who "seemed receptive" to the idea of funding the medical school, but they are still short on their budget. Bjorkman said they've been looking at whether or not departments need to make certain expenditures and how to cut back. According to CMS, the error started when the state health department requested funds Nov. 2 and Nov. 9 for almost $13 million and about $9 million, in addition to a standard quarterly payment of about S4 million. However, CMS discontinued about $32 million in funds, which was regularly distributed to the medical school, to pay salaries of residents, and to fund the U Hospital for treating Medicaid and Medicare patients. Fierberg said the state billed the federal-department too much based on incorrect calculations. "There were two things they identified as being problematic with the way the state plan was being executed," Wirthlin said. "One had to do with the number of payments the health department was making to University Hospitals and Clinics. The second issue had to do with the formula to determine how much each payment should be." The state included funding requests for health care plans such as HMO and PPO, Fierberg said. CMS responded by deferring a request amounting to nearly $22 million in May and later decided to See BUDGET Page 4 The recently signed federal stimulus bill, endorsed strongly by President Barack Obama, will help ease the $46 million budget cut the U will experience beginning next year. The U, which faced a budget cutback of more than 17 percent, will receive funds from the federal stimulus that will bring the cut down to 9 percent, according to financial aides to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. "This package will let us put stimulus money back into higher education and create a softer landing," said Ric Cantrell, the chief deputy of the Utah Senate. The U will receive $241.8 million from the stimulus and state funds, compared to the $264.8 million that had initially been budgeted, according to the governor's office. The stimulus package wilL. begin with the 2009-2010 academic year and will only extend one. additional year, after which the cutback will return to the "normal percentage," a percentage that Cantrell said is impossible to forecast. "It only lasts two years, then it's back to normal," Cantrell said, "What percentage is normal? No one knows." The U administration is concerned about how the university will make up for the lost funds once the stimulus has ended. "The cut will still be there, but the stimulus won't," said Paul Brinkman, associate vice president of budget and planning at the U. "It'll be a huge impact for the university." All public colleges and universities in Utah are set to experience the same 9 percent cutback from the state, but the U, being the largest public university in the state, will feel it the most. "The budget's going to get cut by about $46 million, and the stimulus was near $22 million," See FEDERAL Page 2 TRAX train kills student Michael McFall seph's father. When he took up skateboarding, he Joseph Montgomery wasn't content to just lived to conquer life's ride the board. He had to r^e doing obstacles. tricks, Kevin On March 2, Montgomery Montgomery, said. He re19, was skatemembers when boarding from his son went the Midvale snowboardTRAX station ing, the bunny across 95 W. hill wasn't Center Street, Joseph e n o u g h — he when a train Montgomery had to conquer hit him at about 6 p.m. He was taken to the big jumps. Intermountain Medical Montgomery's Center in serious con- friend, Kylee Howdition, but died four ard, said she owes her days later. He is sur- life to the fearless advived by his parents, venturer. When they Kevin and Brenda, were in high school, his sister Lisa and his Montgomery saved her brothers Benjamin, Pe- life while they were ter and Daniel. rock climbing at Bear •Lake, Howard wrote "He always lived on his online obituary. adventurously," said Kevin Montgomery, JoSee TRAX Page 3 ASST. NEWS EDITOR ERIK OkEtilTZ/TtxDaitfUiahChrcnktt U student Vatsala Kal said that barely missing TRAX trains is frustrating, but rides the train anyway. UTA is urging students to be cautious when boarding TRAX after a student was killed by a train. UTA urges discretion Isabella Bravo STAFF WRITER In light of the death of Joseph Montgomery, a U student who was killed last week after crossing in front of a TRAX train, UTA is urging riders not to sacrifice' safety to be on time. "If you have to run for a train, it's not your train," said Carrie Bohnsack-Ware, Utah Transit Authority spokeswoman. "Just wait 15 minutes for the next one." Watch a video about TRAX safety online at www.daiiyutahch ronicle.com. Some students said it's hard not to run to make the train. John Darrohn said he darts out of class every day to catch the light rail home. Darrohn, a senior in business, said the time between See SAFETY Page 4 Federal Way to close for construction Lana Groves ASST. NEWS EDITOR Federal Way will close Monday as construction begins on USTAR buildings. Students who drive to class using the road through the U's golf course will have to find a new route starting Monday. Many commuters driving on Wasatch Drive usually turn west onto Federal Way to get to the Union and other buildings on Central Campus Drive, but construction plans will reroute drivers to North Campus Drive. The road, which shaves a couple minutes off driving time by cutting through the golf course, will be closed for construction work on the first of four Utah Science Technology and Research program buildings. The first building will be constructed on the east side of the road, just north of where workers will build a pedestrian route from the Warnock Engineering Building to the U Hospital and medical buildings on upper campus. Construction workers will place fences and railings to block the road from pedestrians and drivers as they start preparing the area for the groundbreaking ceremony April 22. "The mass excavation starts around the first of May," said Tom Christensen, manager of design and construction servic- es. "We're doing infrastructure and underground utilities after April. The actual construction on the building will probably start in the fall." Dylan Gregersen, a sophomore in physics at the U, doesn't think he'll mind driving another few minutes to North Campus Drive but said traffic will likely increase. "When you're coming from 400 South through campus, it's hard to get to the Union, especially if you just have that one road," Gregersen said. "And with putting so many buildings there, it's going to increase the See USTAR Page 2 |