On the q.t., university system readies for cuts

Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007 | 7:03 a.m.

While Nevada university system Chancellor Jim Rogers has been loudly saying he will not draft a plan for budget cuts as the governor has requested, the state's higher education institutions have been quietly preparing for potential reductions.

Colleges, universities and the Desert Research Institute have held off on allocating most of $20 million in one-time funding the system gave them this year. And in meetings in Las Vegas today and Friday, university system regents will discuss strategies for possible budget cuts.

Rogers said the system has not drafted a budget-slashing plan or instructed campuses to do so. But he acknowledged institutions were being cautious about spending in light of the fact that Gov. Jim Gibbons can mandate cuts.

"We don't want to make things worse than they are," Rogers said. "We don't want to take any steps that, should the governor order us to cut our budgets, will have compounded the problem."

In August and again in early October, university system regents allocated $10 million to higher education institutions to bolster their budgets.

On Oct. 15, the day Gibbons first asked Rogers and other state managers to plan for cuts, Dan Klaich, the university system's executive vice chancellor, sent an e-mail to campus presidents warning them to be careful about spending the money.

In his e-mail, Klaich, referring to the $10 million in October, told the presidents, "I do not have the power to withhold distribution of that amount, although if I did I would.

"I think that while these budget discussions proceed, you should be extremely cautious about spending or making commitments on that distribution."

At a regents' investment committee meeting Tuesday, representatives of Nevada's eight public higher education institutions reported they had not spent the vast majority of the $20 million.

The state is facing a projected revenue shortfall and Gibbons in October asked department heads including Rogers to prepare to slash their budgets by 5 percent. Last week the governor upped the request, asking agencies to plan for 8 percent cuts.

Rogers has called for state leaders to explore alternative solutions to the funding shortfall, saying legislators should create a business tax or dip into state reserves.

Even before the governor made his October request, UNLV was struggling financially and managers had been preparing budget cuts. Colleges and universities are funded largely based on enrollment, and a new state college in Henderson and tougher admission standards have hurt UNLV's ability to recruit students.

In the context of declining enrollment, the school is taking measures such as leaving some vacant positions unfilled.