CALS Fiscal Bulletin #1: Mid-Year Budget Rescission
November 1, 2002
Currently there is a great deal of speculation concerning the nature and amount of a mid-year state budget reduction. Initially the governor asked all agencies including universities to impose a 10% reduction. In reaction to that plan, President Likins indicated that all colleges would take a 5% reduction with the rest of the university being subject to the full 10%. More recently, the governor revised her plans and requested that the universities only be reduced by 5%—a plan that calls for a Special Session of the legislature. I immediately queried both the president and the provost to see whether they would consider a budget reduction plan in which the colleges were reduced by 2.5% and the rest of the university being accessed the full 5%, i.e., the same model reduced by a factor of two.
In response the provost has indicated a desire to continue with a plan that calls for 3%, 4%, and 5% percent reductions that will not be applied to the colleges "across the board" and will account for any additional budget rescissions that could occur as late as the middle of the spring semester. I concur with the wisdom of that decision, as we will plan for the worst case (5%) and hopefully end with a far better result (2.5-3%). With this as background, what follows are guiding elements that the college is using to develop our plan for the budget rescission.
1. Consideration will be given to selective rather than "across the board" cuts using the criteria developed by SPBAC along with some additional criteria that deal with productivity and programmatic state needs in support of our clientele.4. Faculty and staff recruiting will be severely curtailed. Remember that our graduate student stipends for TAs are paid from funding generated by faculty vacancies. Failure to have funding for TAs would severely damage both our graduate and undergraduate programs.
5. Consideration will be given to fees for courses, labs, and Cooperative Extension programs.
In closing, these are difficult times for all of us. Over three-quarters of my time is spent dealing with budgetary issues and pondering how CALS can get through the next several years without destroying all of our hard work. Our final goal is to come out of this budgetary problem poised for further growth in our quest for excellence in the programs that we sponsor.
Gene Sander