Officials: System Unlikely to Get Full Funds

The BOG requested the funds Friday to continue normal university operations, to increase faculty salaries and to expand and improve facilities.

The request has to be approved by the N.C. General Assembly and Gov. Mike Easley.

But legislators said the request is unlikely to be met in full because of the state's budget crisis.

It will be difficult to accommodate all areas of necessary funding because of the state's precarious budget situation, said Sen. Walter Dalton, D-Rutherford, co-chairman of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee.

"It will most definitely be hard to provide all the requested funding because last year we preserved educational priorities through one-time initiatives," he said. "This leaves a huge hole in the budget for this year."

Sen. Charles Carter, D-Buncombe and co-chairman of the Senate Education Committee, also said he does not expect the BOG request to be funded fully. "It's going to be a tough budget year coming up, so I imagine we'll fund less than was requested," he said.

But Carter emphasized that schools' suffering will be reduced by allowing administrators to select which areas to cut within their budgets.

"The General Assembly does define certain appropriations, but universities have a great deal of flexibility with funding," he said.

It is difficult to speculate on how much of the requested budget will be approved because not all the legislative races have been determined, said Rep. Margaret Jeffus, D-Guilford, vice chairwoman of the House Education Committee.

Budget decisions will be affected largely by the party that ends up gaining a majority in the legislature, politicians have said.

"It's hard to determine what is going to happen in the state government because elections haven't been settled," Jeffus said.

But Jeffus said no matter who has control next session, higher education is a top priority. "We will take a very serious look at the needs of the (UNC system) and try not to cut in crucial places," she said. "We will try to preserve whatever we feel like we can."

Dalton said system funding is not determined entirely by the state but also depends on federal appropriations, such as financial aid funding. Under the BOG's request, an additional $10.25 million in 2003-04 and an addition $13.25 million in 2004-05 would be allocated to fund need-based financial aid.

"A lot of the budget has to be federal money," Dalton said.

"The way the budget picture looks now, we're a billion to a billion and a half short of what we need to meet the obligations that we met last year."

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