Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1972 [PAGE 354]

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[July 21

Occupancy and use of new buildings. Lack of-sufficient funds for operation and maintenance makes it a definite possibility that the University will not be able to put into use all of the. buildings to be completed in F Y 1972. Preparation of the FY 1972 Budget for Operations Several million dollars will have to be accumulated through internal savings and reallocations in order to meet the initial deficiency of $3.9 million plus the irreducible increases in costs of operations. T h e chancellors and other administrative officers have been asked to prepare budget recommendations designed to reflect the reductions and other changes from their budgets for F Y 1971. After appropriate review, these recommendations will be submitted to the Board of Trustees for action at its meeting on October 20, 1971. Substantial reductions will be made in state funds budgeted for equipment, travel, commodities, services, and other items of expense. Vacant positions — academic and nonacademic — will provide a large share of the savings needed to effect budget reductions and to support mandatory rate increases. It seems unlikely, however, that all such economies will be sufficient for achieving the lower annual expenditure level required under S.B. 717 as signed by the Governor. Further reductions in staff beyond those already made in recent months, and reflected in current vacancies, will undoubtedly be necessary — although estimates of their magnitude will not be available until the final budget recommendations have been prepared for the October meeting of the Board of Trustees. Relative to possible staff reductions during F Y 1972, it should be emphasized that the highest priority for the retention of positions will be given to instructional departments and programs. In this connection, it should be noted that for faculty members having one of the regular academic ranks there can be no termination of employment during F Y 1972 under the University's Statutes (except for cause)—unless an individual had been given terminal notice by August 31, 1970 (if he had been on the staff during the preceding year), or by March 1, 1971 (if he was then in his first contract year). Recommendations Concerning Possible Increases in FY 1972 Appropriations There are several possible courses of action that could lead to increases in the University's F Y 1972 appropriations for regular operations : 1. T h e General Assembly in October could vote to rescind one or more of the reductions made by the Governor in the line items of S.B. 717. 2. The General Assembly could pass a deficiency bill in October or during its next regular session that would appropriate additional University income, as proposed by the Governor, on the assumption that the Board of Trustees would act to increase tuition rates and thus collect the additional funds. 3. Various combinations of conditions implicit under options (1) and (2) are possible, with corresponding differences in the amounts of increase in funds. It is recommended that the Board of Trustees take the following steps in an effort to secure additional appropriations for F Y 1972: A. That the General Assembly be urged to rescind the Governor's net reduction of $5,839,672 in the "Personal Services" item of Section 1 of S.B. 717. This amount would then be available for salary and wage increases. B. That action on a tuition increase be deferred until after the General Assembly has acted on the Governor's recommendation for a deficiency appropriation which would be funded by the additional income. (The rationale for this recommendation is discussed in the following section.) Comment on the Issue of Higher Tuition Rates A few comments should be added by way of clarification of the position of the University relative to the tuition increases recommended by the Board of Higher Education on November 3, 1970. The Board of Trustees has not yet acted directly on this proposal, although it did endorse a statement at its meeting on February 17, 1971, emphasizing the inadequacies of the Board of Higher Education's collateral proposals for student aid designed to offset the impact Of the higher rates upon students from families with low incomes.