Last week Gov. Mike Easley announced that the state's budget shortfall is expected to reach $900 million by June 31, the end of the 2001-02 fiscal year.
To help fill the fiscal hole, Easley ordered the UNC system to revert about $21.1 million in funding -- $5 million from UNC-Chapel Hill.
The newly announced budget cuts come on the heels of a $43 million budget reversion the UNC system made in November, when it first became apparent that state revenue would not meet earlier projections.
The UNC system also will lose $51.5 million in repair and renovation funding, bringing the UNC system's total budget cuts to more than $115 million for the 2001-02 fiscal year.
UNC-system President Molly Broad said that while the budget cuts will be difficult for UNC-system schools to absorb, individual campus administrators will work to ensure that there is little impact on classroom activity.
"Despite the hardships ... we remain resolutely determined to serve students already enrolled on our campuses and the thousands that are coming here next fall," Broad said.
She also said that despite the recent rounds of budget cuts, the UNC system's top priority for the 2002 legislative session will remain the acquisition of $70 million in funding for enrollment growth.
"(The budget cuts) haven't changed at all -- that it is our highest priority," Broad said.
The board members also agreed to set another meeting date for the Budget and Finance Committee to discuss tuition within the UNC system. The meeting will be held Feb. 19 in Winston-Salem.
