UA, Auburn officials meet about state budget

Trustees from Auburn University and the UA System found common ground Wednesday during a joint meeting in Montgomery.

Officials from both universities met to discuss Gov. Bob Riley's proposed cuts to higher education funding in his budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, which has been submitted to the Legislature.

If the 15 percent cuts in funding pass, the trustees and university presidents discussed one scenario to cover all costs, raising tuition up to 30 percent to make up the difference. But in the education budget, K-12 funding would be cut 2.5 percent.

Kellee Reinhart, UA System vice chancellor for system relations, said there are no plans at this time for any of the institutions to raise tuition.

"The consensus was that this proposed budget bill is simply not feasible," Reinhart said.

Todd Stacy, a spokesman for the governor's office, said the proposed cuts are fair because higher education funding increased proportionally more last year than K-12. And Stacy said tuition at universities has been increasing despite three straight years of funding increases.

"The budget is balanced. The budget is fair," Stacy said. "It would only make sense that this year [higher education funding] would be reduced proportionally more."

From fiscal years 2005 to 2008, the University's state appropriation increased 58 percent, growing from $126 million to $199 million.

At the Feb. 5 UA System Board of Trustees meeting, Chancellor Malcolm Portera said he hoped that higher education would not have to shoulder a larger funding cut than K-12.

"We will not ask for K-12 to take a higher percentage of the cuts," Portera said. "We will argue, however, that the burden of the cuts be shared equally across all levels."

At the same meeting, Trustee Joe Espy, who is president pro tempore of the board, said higher education has had several good years for state funding increases.

He said he understood that budget cuts were going to happen because of the sluggish economy but that the universities would need help.

"We will meet the challenge, but we will need the support of the Legislature and the governor," Espy said.

Commenting on what the cuts will be, UA spokeswoman Deborah Lane said speculation about tuition raises and budget cuts are premature because the budget is still a bill and has not passed yet.

Lane said after UA officials learned of the governor's budget proposal, administrators started evaluating a response.

"We're looking at all of our options," she said. "We haven't discussed actual tuition raises yet. We wouldn't be able to determine what we would do until the bill is actually passed and let's us know where we stand."

Lane said a tuition raise is always an option to consider, but the University will have no plan of action until the proposed budget is or is not passed.

"We would hope any decision on budget cuts would be fair to everyone involved, and we expect that," Lane said.

But if cuts in state appropriations lead to tuition increases, some students said they worry about being able to afford to attend the University.

Eileen McCoy, a junior majoring in electrical engineering and physics, said she would not be affected because she has a scholarship, but she thinks it might drive away other out-of-state students, such as her sister.

"My little sister is considering coming here next year and if tuition is increased, that's going to make it that much more unattractive for my parents to have two students at an out-of-state school unless she also gets a scholarship," McCoy said.

And Mary Kellye Sparks, a sophomore majoring in nursing, said the additional financial burden to attend the University would make her worry.

"I would have to take out extra loans, which I would then have to pay off after I graduated, and that would be a burden," Sparks said.

James Jaillet and Christi Cowan contributed to this report.