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Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Universities to request 'modest' funding increases

Leaders of Kentucky's public universities will plead for slight increases in state funding over the next two years but, at the very least, want to avoid deep cuts when federal stimulus money goes away starting in July 2011.

Members of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education will vote Friday on the request for state spending for the eight public universities and Kentucky Community and Technical College System for July 2010 through June 2012.

According to a draft recommendation, they will propose a total increase of 4.6 percent for next year and 2.7 percent increase in fiscal 2012, with much of the money for maintenance and operations of new buildings.

"It would be a modest" request, at best, in any other year, said Robert L. King, the council's president. "We certainly need to be sensitive to the realities of the economy. But at the same time, we want to make clear that we have some very real needs."

With an expected budget deficit of nearly $1.2 billion if spending continues at current levels through 2012, those needs still might not be met. But two key lawmakers said higher education leaders are helping their cause by not asking for too much.

"I think the request they are making probably is reasonable — whether the money is there or not, it's just too early," said Rep. Rick Rand, D-Bedford and chairman of the House budget committee. "If nothing changes, those goals are going to be tough to meet in the next couple years."

State Sen. Bob Leeper, a Paducah independent who chairs the Senate appropriations committee, said money is too scarce for lawmakers "to make any commitments now."

"The legislature made a pretty strong commitment to higher ed a few years ago, and I think we all want to honor that," Leeper said. "But the world is different now."

At the very least, higher education leaders want the governor and lawmakers to restore funding to original levels from earlier this year. On paper, the universities' took a collective $70 million cut in state spending. That was replaced with federal stimulus funds.

Kentucky still has more than $200 million in federal stimulus money that could go toward education — for universities and K-12— next year. But the money evaporates before the 2011-12 fiscal year.

"We're all just hoping that the economy improves before the stimulus money runs out," King said.

Overall, the draft of the council's recommendation for higher education funding calls for slightly more than $1 billion in total operating and instructional funds to be split among the institutions in the 2010-11 fiscal year.

That would represent $48 million more than the state provided this year. The proposal calls for nearly $30 million more the following year, mostly because the universities are asking for maintenance and operation funds for recently constructed campus buildings.

Two years ago, the General Assembly declined to provide the universities with that money, which covers the costs of energy, utilities and repairs.

Once the council approves a budget request, it will be submitted to Gov. Steve Beshear, who then will craft his spending recommendation by the end of January so the legislature can make revisions by April.

He has warned that this will be "the toughest budget cycle the state has gone through in modern times."

King said no one has formally committed to preserving university funding, but Beshear has made it clear that higher education remains a top priority.

The university presidents also have signed a three-page "points of consensus" document that confirms their endorsement of the request.

"It's really the first time we've been able to do that in several years," King said. As a result, he expects the school presidents to present a united front, rather than competing with one another for state funds.

The draft of the budget request also outlines how universities would spend extra money if Kentucky stumbles onto a revenue windfall.

If available, money for "strategic initiatives" — $25 million in 2011 and $50 million in 2012 — would be used for technology improvements and to increase student retention.

"Do we expect that any of these will be funded? Probably not," King said. "But we want to at least communicate to the governor and the legislature that these are what we think are our highest needs."