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UConn's budget could take 9.2 percent hit
Christopher Duray
Issue date: 2/5/09 Section: News
HARTFORD - In a budget proposal submitted to the state legislature Wednesday, Gov. M. Jodi Rell rescinded a total of 9.2 percent - about $23.8 million - from UConn through June 2010. She also proposed a one-year freeze of university construction projects.
The proposal, though a serious sign of economic trouble for UConn, may face revisions before it is approved by the legislature; an event that, according to local state Sen. Donald Williams (D-Mansfield), may take until June to complete.
Other provisions of the budget, which projects about a $3 billion general fund deficit for the next two years, included consolidating some courts and state bureaucracies, introducing a "middle college system" to improve technical high schools and job training, and emphasizing revenue through state fees instead of taxes. Rell also pledged not to cut any student financial aid.
Rell did not focus heavily on the UConn cuts in her speech, but did ask students to be understanding.
"Students need to realize that they are not the cause [of the economic crisis], but must be part of the solution," she said.
The reduction will begin with a 2 percent cut for the 2009 fiscal year, which adds onto the 3 percent rescission the school received in 2008. This brings the total losses to about 5 percent, a figure that will carry through until the next budget review in 2011.
President Hogan was traveling Wednesday and unavailable for comment, but Lisa Troyer, his chief of staff, seemed cautiously optimistic about the school's ability to deal with the reductions.
"Given where the state is, and where we are all going in the next few years, 5 percent isn't so excessive," she said.
Troyer also said that the administration had been anticipating a loss of about 5 percent, and had already been working with the Cost Operations & Revenue Efficiencies task force to lower expenses. At a Jan. 12 meeting of the Board of Trustees, Hogan said a full report on saving the school millions of dollars would be forthcoming. Troyer called the report, which is still in the works, "a starting point."
The proposal, though a serious sign of economic trouble for UConn, may face revisions before it is approved by the legislature; an event that, according to local state Sen. Donald Williams (D-Mansfield), may take until June to complete.
Other provisions of the budget, which projects about a $3 billion general fund deficit for the next two years, included consolidating some courts and state bureaucracies, introducing a "middle college system" to improve technical high schools and job training, and emphasizing revenue through state fees instead of taxes. Rell also pledged not to cut any student financial aid.
Rell did not focus heavily on the UConn cuts in her speech, but did ask students to be understanding.
"Students need to realize that they are not the cause [of the economic crisis], but must be part of the solution," she said.
The reduction will begin with a 2 percent cut for the 2009 fiscal year, which adds onto the 3 percent rescission the school received in 2008. This brings the total losses to about 5 percent, a figure that will carry through until the next budget review in 2011.
President Hogan was traveling Wednesday and unavailable for comment, but Lisa Troyer, his chief of staff, seemed cautiously optimistic about the school's ability to deal with the reductions.
"Given where the state is, and where we are all going in the next few years, 5 percent isn't so excessive," she said.
Troyer also said that the administration had been anticipating a loss of about 5 percent, and had already been working with the Cost Operations & Revenue Efficiencies task force to lower expenses. At a Jan. 12 meeting of the Board of Trustees, Hogan said a full report on saving the school millions of dollars would be forthcoming. Troyer called the report, which is still in the works, "a starting point."
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George
posted 2/05/09 @ 11:20 AM EST
Rell spoke about 5% reduction for UConn, not 9.2%. Besides, $23.8 million is not 9.2% of the budget. I do not understand how they got 9.2%.
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