Legislators: System Cuts May Exceed 4 Percent

Budget reversions to deal with a state budget shortfall for the 2001-02 fiscal year already have drained campus resources, and system officials say instruction at many of the system's campuses -- including UNC-Chapel Hill -- will significantly suffer if budgets are cut by even as little as 3 percent.

But Sen. Howard Lee, D-Orange, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the state legislature might be forced to trim the UNC-system budget by more than the recommended 4 percent maximum.

"It is possible," Lee said. "I'm hoping that it will be at the 4 percent or less. The higher it goes, the greater is the risk of doing damage to the universities."

The state could be facing a budget shortfall of well over $1 billion for the 2002-03 fiscal year, which starts on July 1. The declining economic outlook is forcing Gov. Mike Easley and state legislators to consider cuts in all corners of state government, including the UNC system.

Lee said that some jobs likely will be lost within the 16-campus system but that legislators would try to make cuts to vacant positions based on each post's overall worth. He added that the legislature also will examine how individual programs contribute to meeting the overall mission of the UNC system.

"We will look at eliminating total programs rather than making piecemeal cuts," Lee said. "It will depend on (each campus's) administration to judge which programs are less effective than others."

He said that generally speaking, the legislature plans to target its cuts, while the governor is emphasizing less specific projected budget trims.

Gov. Mike Easley has requested that the UNC system submit budget cut scenarios for 2002-03 this week.

Jeff Davies, UNC-system vice president for finance, said the administration concentrated on formulating scenarios that would leave instruction largely unscathed.

Scenarios were designed in 1 percent increments, capping the cuts at the 4 percent mark. "We are looking at the point at which instruction becomes affected," Davies said. "By the 4 percent range everybody is being affected."

But he said cuts as small as 3 percent could force some campuses, including UNC-CH, to cut faculty.

A 3 percent budget cut would force UNC-CH to cut 26 filled faculty positions in academic affairs, trimming about 100 faculty-taught courses from the University's course offerings.

A 4 percent cut would mean a cut of $16.4 million for UNC-CH and loss of 35 filled faculty positions and 21 graduate teaching assistants in academic affairs.

Health affairs would suffer cuts of similar proportions.

Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, said that protecting higher education remains a top priority for state legislators but that lawmakers are legally bound to take necessary steps to balance the budget.

"We can't spend money we don't have," he said. "North Carolina has a constitutional mandate to balance the budget.

"I certainly hope that we won't do anything to hurt instructional quality at our universities," Rand added.

"But I hope we won't have to do a lot of things I think we'll have to do."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.