Already approved by the university's Board of Regents, the budget for the two-year period ending in mid-2009 will be sent for the governor's review and then legislative consideration.

Officials say the larger capital improvement budget is needed to address the university system's growing deferred maintenance backlog and projects such as UH-West O'ahu that have been left unfunded for years.

"Partially we're still catching up on projects that didn't get dollars for so many years," said regent chairwoman Kitty Lagareta. "Deferred maintenance stuff was practically erased from the budget for about 10 or 15 years."

Lagareta said the fact that the state has a surplus did not influence the larger budget requests this year.

"The campuses put it together from the ground up and presented to the regents their priorities," she said. "Some things are just getting desperate," said Lagareta, citing what she called the "dreadful" condition of the UH-Manoa and UH-Hilo dorms and the university's deferred repair and maintenance backlog, estimated at more than $180 million.

NEEDS, NOT WISHES

Also included in the university's operating budget proposal is a request for about 388 new faculty and staff positions, most of which are for student academic counseling, financial aid support and advising — all intended to help students stay in school and graduate on time.

Linda Johnsrud, vice president for academic planning and policy, said the university tried to gear its operating budget requests to "meet the needs of the state" by addressing workforce development and increasing the education level of the state's population.

"We've got to increase enrollment, we've got to increase retention and we've got to increase graduation rates if we're going to increase the educational capital of the state. This budget is very much geared to supporting those things," Johnsrud said.

The university's chief financial officer, Howard Todo, said the budget reflects the priorities of each of the 10 different campuses. He said it represents what the university feels are crucial needs rather than a wish list.

"We asked the chancellors to take a hard look at their budget and focus on the needs. We really asked them to use those needs to focus their requests in a way that we weren't just asking for everything we can think of," Todo said.

NO. 3 ON PRIORITY LIST

A number of projects that have been in the works for years are included in the university's capital improvements request.

The development of a four-year UH campus in West O'ahu is one of the highest-ranking projects, with the university requesting a total of $35 million. That amount was requested by the university last legislative session for the university's supplemental budget, but it was denied by lawmakers.

Development of the West O'ahu campus ranks third on the university's list of priorities, preceded only by $19 million to address health and safety requirements and $131 million to address the university's maintenance backlog.

"We're cautiously optimistic that we'll get the funds this time around," said Gene Awakuni, chancellor of UH-West O'ahu. "Number three on the priority list says a lot about the university's commitment to UH-West O'ahu."

The university is also requesting authorization to raise and spend up to $100 million in private money for the West O'ahu project. The money would come from the private developer in exchange for development rights on up to 200 acres of the 500-acre site owned by the state, Awakuni said.

Plans call for Phase I of UH-West O'ahu to be completed by 2009 and include the construction of four buildings on the 500-acre Kapolei site and is expected to accommodate 1,520 students. Total cost of the infrastructure and buildings is expected to be about $150 million. No date has been set for completing the other phases.

WINDWARD LIBRARY

Also included in the CIP proposal is a request for nearly $50 million for the design and construction of a new Library and Resource Center at Windward Community College. The building would replace the current cramped 8,000-square- foot library built in the 1930s.

"Our current library is in a building about 75 years old. It's an old state hospital building — very musty, moldy and not very library like. Replacing it is long overdue," said Angela Meixell, Windward Community College chancellor.

Meixell said the new building will also be used as a learning center and will house several other units.

"It'll help both the college and the community. Our community uses our campus a lot," she said.

The university is also making a commitment to rebuild a structure lost to fire at the Lab School in June. The university is requesting $4.1 million for the planning and design of the new building in fiscal 2008 and $45 million for construction of the building in fiscal 2009.

Don Young, interim dean of the UH College of Education, has said that the university is committed to replacing the lost building within three years and the new building likely will hold classrooms and faculty offices for the Lab School and for UH's College of Education. The building also will house several departments displaced following the fire, including orchestra, choir, theater and athletic programs.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.