Higher Ed Budgets Intact After Round of State Cuts
Michigan Tech, along with
the state's 14 other public universities, will not be facing immediate
cuts to its state appropriation.
"We in higher education
have collectively dodged the bullet, at least in the short run,"
said Dale Tahtinen, vice president for governmental relations. "The
university budgets have been held harmless."
On Nov. 6, the state legislature
approved $540 million in general fund budget cuts for the 2001-02 state
fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, 2002. In addition, the state will transfer
$550 million from the Budget Stabilization Fund, the so-called rainy day
fund. The twin actions are designed to balance the state's budget in the
face of tax revenues that have been hit hard in the wake of the current
economic slowdown.
While the higher education
appropriation has not been reduced this year, universities should be prepared
to tighten their belts in the future, Tahtinen cautioned, especially if
tax revenues decline faster than anticipated.
"We have been forewarned
that next year's state budget may have to be reduced by as much as 10
percent overall," he said, and universities will probably have to
bear at least some of the burden.
The state did cut $55 million
from the Merit Award program, which provides scholarships to Michigan's
top high school graduates. Most of the savings, $33 million, comes from
an accounting change. The remainder of the budget cut comes from reducing
the eligibility period from seven to two years and from tying the awards
to actual college expenditures. The cuts in the program are not expected
to affect Merit Award recipients this academic year, Tahtinen said.
11/9/01