At a time when enrollment appears to be surging, the proposal amounts to what higher education officials say is an across-the-board reduction of 6 percent from the state's 10 institutions of higher learning. The University of Utah's share would be nearly $16 million.
"The impact varies a lot within each institution. It means new vacancies won't get filled. The biggest danger is student services get cut," said William Sederburg, Utah's new commissioner of higher education. "What a first day on the hill."
Lawmakers on the higher education budget committee were visibly disappointed that they were forced to pry up to $66 million out of college budgets, while public education was "held harmless." Some were mystified why some new programs, such as a controversial $20 million plan to give performance incentives to teachers, would be untouched.
"We need to help our colleagues understand that the new programs [in public education] aren't more important that what we've got going on," said committee co-chair Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville. Some of those new higher ed programs include the Regents Scholarship, a $1,000 incentive for high schoolers to sustain a B average while taking college-preparatory courses.
"I feel sorry for the new employees we've brought in from private institutions and now they're going to lose their jobs," said Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt Lake City.
If approved by the full Legislature, the $50 million dollar hit would be the biggest sustained by higher education in 21 years, officials said. Universities and colleges would have the discretion to make the cuts as they see fit, but they would essentially zero out the budget increases higher education won during the last regular legislative session. More than two-thirds of those increases were for salary hikes.
Sederburg noted that it costs $6,000 a year to provide a student with a college education. With a 5,000-student spike in enrollment this fall, perhaps due to the economic downturn, the state system is already saddled with $30 million in unexpected costs.
"You can't go back and increase fees and tuition," Sederburg said. "The message is interesting. The concern is, what is the value the citizens place on higher education?"
