Campus leaders back governor’s funding plan because return on investment will be massive

Quality education increasingly is recognized as providing expanded opportunities and improved economics for graduates.

While Arizona is blessed with three public universities that are among the nation’s finest, a new plan is necessary to enable these institutions to grow and evolve to meet the needs of our students, the challenges of a new economy and the expectations of the citizens of Arizona.

Ready or not, our state is locked in a global competition for the most talented students and faculty, the best jobs and economic growth.

Rebuilding without raising taxes

That’s why we strongly endorse Gov. Doug Ducey’s innovative plan to construct, renew and rebuild infrastructure across the campuses of Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona. The governor’s approach will spark a capital construction campaign that addresses overdue maintenance needs while providing critical dollars for the next generation of facilities for education, research and development. And all without raising taxes. How? Simply put, the universities would recapture the sales tax they have already paid.

For context, it is important for taxpayers to know that Arizona is one of only six states nationally that impose a sales tax on public university purchases. Returning those tax dollars to the universities would annually save them an estimated $37 million, which when matched with university funds, immediately provides $1 billion in bonding capacity.

Expect a big return on investment

Experience tells us the state’s return on investment would be massive.

In 2003, the state Legislature authorized the Board of Regents to use an annual appropriation of $35 million per year to construct roughly $500 million worth of research facilities at our state universities. The projects were completed in the 2004-07 period and led to a 50 percent increase in an-