UM prepares for budget cut aftershock

With the approval of $48 million in higher education budget cuts in the Missouri Senate on Tuesday, the University of Missouri System is among the institutions preparing themselves for a possible budget shortfall.

Joe Moore, director of media relations for the system, said the cuts were not yet finalized. UM hopes the cuts — $18 million of which would be directed toward the system — are not approved, he said.

“We hope the Senate’s reduction for higher education is restored through conference,” Moore said. “Our state leaders know the University of Missouri is an excellent steward of public dollars, and despite massive cuts in recent years to our state appropriation, we have achieved ever higher levels of efficiency, including record enrollments, record graduation rates, record federal research funding, record minority participation and record student aid funding.”

After its approval in the Senate, both chambers will meet to come to an agreement between their proposed budgets. The completed budget is due May 6.

Moore said it is too early at this point to foresee how the university would deal with the cuts. The system hoped the state would give it the flat budget for which the system had planned, he said.

“At this point, we hope the state will not take the university $18 million below budget,” Moore said. “We have not budgeted for that”

If the Senate’s cuts are approved, MOREnet — a system that connects members of the educational community via the Internet and serves K-12 school districts, public and private higher education, public libraries and state government — is one of the organizations that could lose the most money. The system is budgeted to lose $4.35 million under the Senate proposal. If the House’s number is taken, it would lose $2.9 million, said Bill Mitchell, executive director of MOREnet.

Mitchell said the MOREnet is prepared for budget cuts. The question that remained, he said, was how much the budget cuts would be.

Mitchell said the MOREnet oversight council is working to prepare a list of services to be prioritized for possible reduction or elimination to lower its costs. They are also looking at possible fee increases for their customers.

Gordon Christensen, chair of MU’s Faculty Council, said UM President Elson Floyd and MU Chancellor Brady Deaton discussed saving money by pushing for faculty productivity.

“But, at some point, we can’t do more like that,” he said. “Some feel we’re close to that point.”

Christensen said they are looking for savings wherever they can find them, but the cuts are beginning to be burdensome.

“What’s occurring is the legislature is transferring the burden of education off the backs of corporations to the people of the school,” he said. “They’re converting the public education process to a private education process, hurting the people trying to go to school. We’re not there yet, but that’s kind of where things are going.”