Budget cuts to the state university system could force ASU to lay off between 586 and 2,488 employees or to drastically reduce financial aid, according a government report.
The Arizona Board of Regents submitted the report to the governor’s
office earlier this month, outlining the potential impact of cuts in state university funding of 5 percent, 10 percent, 15 percent and 20 percent.
“We cannot express strongly enough the crippling effect that additional cuts of up to 20 percent [or $188 million] would have on the university system,” the report said. “Cuts of this magnitude would fundamentally imperil our ability to deliver our programs and carry out our obligations.”
The report outlines the impacts of budget cuts on each state university, attempting to demonstrate the devastating effects the cuts would have.
For example, a 5 percent cut in the state universities’ budget would leave ASU with a shortfall of more than $57 million, according to the report. This year, the University had to cut about $63 million.
To cover the deficit, the University would have to lay off 740 professional staff, 1,188 classified staff or 586 faculty. A $57 million deficit would amount to 48 percent of the University’s financial aid, according to the report.
University spokeswoman Sharon Keeler said the report, which was part of a joint effort by the state’s three universities, is not a list of options by the University, but simply meant to demonstrate the impact cuts would have. The University would look into a variety of options to meet the cuts, she said.
“It’s kind of an overall scenario of what the cuts would mean,” Keeler said. “They’re examples. This is not a full report of what would happen at ASU.”
ABOR was just one of many state agencies asked to submit reports to the Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting detailing the potential impact of budget cuts.
Paul Senseman, the communications director for the governor’s office, said those numbers do not necessarily reflect Gov. Brewer’s plans. The reports are simply a means of collecting information so the governor’s office can find a way to cut funding with the lowest impact possible, Senseman said.
“There is not a specific narrowing down of [budget] options yet or the creation of a proposal list,” Senseman said. “We hope to utilize this data to make informed decisions as we narrow down the various options to a proposal.”
Undergraduate Student Government President Mark Appleton said he is skeptical, however, of Senseman’s claim that the governor’s office has not yet determined a minimum for the amount of funding it plans to cut.
“A lot of it is politics and trying to get as much information from people without telling them what you’re going to do,” Appleton said. “I would say the 5 percent [in proposed cuts] is the minimum. I hope I’m wrong.”
Appleton also said any further cuts could result in the University laying off faculty members and advisors. The reorganization of several programs and mass layoffs — which the ABOR report said totals 550 at ASU alone — have left the University’s with few alternatives, Appleton said.
“There isn’t much more administrative stuff to cut,” Appleton said. “You’re going to start seeing academic staff cutback, and that’s going to have the biggest impact yet on students.”
Reach the reporter at derek.quizon@asu.edu.
