Small state cuts indicate 2010-11 budget scenarios may include little to no tuition raise
David Burdette said Central Michigan University has a “conservative model” of action for coming state appropriations cuts.
With Michigan’s Senate Appropriations Committee recommending a 3.1 percent cut in appropriations to higher education, CMU administrators outlined their plans for budget cuts Monday in the Bovee University Center Auditorium.
Burdette, vice president of Financial and Administrative Services, presented budget models for the 2010-11 budget year based on anywhere from 5 to 20 percent cuts in state appropriations. By the models shown, if the cuts remain at or below 5 percent, CMU could afford its predicted budget without raising tuition.
“While we may get a 3 to 4 percent reduction in state appropriations, that would be great because we modeled for a 20 percent reduction,” he said. “We have built a very conservative model.”
He also said officials plan to freeze the amount of money allocated to utilities over the next three years.
Burdette also laid out models for next year’s budget based on a “modest” 2 percent increase in undergraduate tuition.
Provost Gary Shapiro said officials have not yet decided what the actual tuition increase will be.
“As challenging as the budget is, we are not alone,” said University President George Ross. “There are 15 colleges in this state and we are all challenged.”
Ross said major plans for cuts include salary restraint, spending out of the reserve account and cutting maintenance and utility costs.
There should be no layoffs of any current faculty or staff over the next year based on what they know, Ross said.
Dealing with cuts
Kathy Wilbur, vice president of Government Relations and Public Affairs, said she does not blame the Senate for proposing the cut and said Michigan is facing a $1.7 billion deficit.
Although the House of Representatives has not discussed the budget yet, they will probably consider a similar cut to appropriations, she said.
“I think they were being very pragmatic,” Wilbur said. “I actually think 3.1 percent is almost nothing compared with what I think they really could do.”
Shapiro said state appropriations for 2010 is set at $80,064,200, about $400,000 less than it was in 2000. However, he said this amount means a lot less now as CMU has more students, and bills and expenses have increased greatly.
The funding the university receive from the state now is about $4,285 per student, compared with about $4,900 in 2000. Shapiro said this has led CMU to raise tuition over the years to make up for the difference.
“We cannot continue to raise tuition in a competitive sense,” Shapiro said.
