Wichita ? University leaders took to the road Wednesday to rally support in Wichita and Overland Park for their bid to get the Legislature to fund a 25 percent “down payment” on the $727 million needed to fix crumbling buildings across the university system.

“This is a huge problem. I’ll tell you what, it is an emergency. I mean, that is what it is. We are talking about a crisis that is facing our six campuses,” Jon Wefald, president of Kansas State University, told about 30 alumni and community leaders at Wichita State University.

At K-State alone, the campus has 55 acres of roofs, 12 miles of underground steam lines and 1.2 million square feet of sidewalks that need to be repaired or replaced.

Among the pictures Wefald showed to the 30 people who came to the presentation was one of a classroom in which a student had hung above his desk a piece of plastic sheeting so the leaking roof did not ruin his work.

Nelson Galle, the Board of Regents chairman, said universities have spent tuition money and private foundation money to fix the worst problems.

Robert Hemenway, chancellor of Kansas University, said the campus’ main science building, built in 1956, is being used for 21st century cancer research funded by the National Institutes of Health.

“In almost every building on the KU campus, because we are doing modern things in older buildings, we are putting a lot of stress on electrical facilities,” Hemenway said, adding many buildings’ wiring was put in before there were electrical codes.

This year, a 33-year-old transformer in one old building on campus melted down, he said, forcing the cancellation of classes for a day. A temporary fix cost $113,000, he said.

University leaders are meeting with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius this month to try to garner her support in making the down payment deferred maintenance program one of her priorities for the upcoming legislative session, Galle said.

University leaders said it would take five years, even if they get the $727 million they need to take care of the existing maintenance problems. And they say they would need an additional $74 million each year afterward to keep up the necessary maintenance.

“We aren’t expecting any political miracles, but we are expecting a breakthrough,” Wefald said of the 2007 session.

Wichita State University President Don Beggs said his university has spent 3.4 million over the last two years to take care of the highest priorities.

Even with that spending, the college is falling further behind in keeping up with the deteriorating buildings. Two years ago, Wichita State identified $33.9 million for deferred maintenance projects; today it is $44 million, he said.