CU Boulder is looking to cut $6.8 million dollars from the University budget in the next fiscal year, according to Bronson Hilliard, CU Spokesperson.
“When you’ve got a cut like that, you know, there really is no way to shield the campus from layoffs unfortunately,” Hilliard said. “Each major areas of the campus face the potential of all kinds of impacts to their budgets, everything from delayed purchases, cancellations of travel budgets, and personnel layoffs.”
Governor Bill Ritter decided against cutting $300 million dollars from higher education while finalizing the budget a few weeks ago.
Cutting the $300 million from the budget would have put the state below the $555 million levels of the 2005-2006 fiscal year, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
Cutting the $300 million would have also made Colorado ineligible for the $760 million in the State Stabilization Funds from the Recovery Act through President Obama’s stimulus package, according to the press release.
The State Stabilization Funds has provided the CU system with $50 million in “extra” funds, but budget cuts are necessary because the stimulus money will only contribute to the CU system for the next two years.
“The stimulus provides some relief but doesn’t preclude the need to make cuts,” Ken McConnellogue, the spokesperson for the CU system, said. “And the other thing about the stimulus money is it’s only for two years.”
The current base budget from the state for the CU system is $209 million dollars. Starting July 1 the CU system will be making $50 million dollars in cuts, so the new base budget will be $159 million. In addition to that $159 million will be $50 million dollars in stimulus money that will last for two years, according to McConnellogue.
“So stimulus money will go to kind of artificially restore our base budget, but in two years the stimulus money won’t be there. So if everything stayed equal, we’d have a $50 million dollar hole in two years,” McConnellogue said. “Part of the reason we want to make cuts is because we want to prepare for what we know for, what we will have to cut in two years.”
CU Boulder will have to take a $13.1 million dollar cut from the current fiscal year into the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
“We’ve already made $3.8 million in cuts already on the Boulder campus for fiscal year 2008-2009,” Hilliard said.
With the sizable upcoming cuts students are worried about a potential raise in tuition and increase in class sizes on the CU Boulder campus.
“The short answer is we just don’t know what’s going to happen with tuition,” Hilliard said. “So there’s a possibility that the cuts could be for the next fiscal year, could be deeper so we’re going to do everything we can to look for revenue resources and minimize the impact on undergrad and grad students.”
Students can expect to experiences these cuts in small ways and larger ways as time goes on.
“We’re going to have to have reduction in professors down the road and larger class sizes,” Hilliard said.
There is a possibility that there will be a limitation on the number of classes that can be offered, which could affect the speed at which students can obtain their degree.
“Students may experience classes that filled up quickly because we can only offer fewer classes to them, it may have an impact on the time to degree,” Hilliard said.
“This is not to say all students will experience this,” he added. “This is one of the ways it might affect students”
Students are not pleased to hear of the potential for less classes and larger class sizes in CU’s effort to adapt to a changing budget.
“They should try to cut other things first because we’re all here for an education and it’s not fair,” Kiley McInroy, a freshman open option major said.
Others feel the state government should make a greater effort to fund higher education.
“Since we’re paying to go here we should be getting the best education and representation we can from the state government,” Genevieve Schutzius, 18, environmental engineering major, said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Sara Kassabian at Sara.kassabian@colorado.edu
