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Last updated: Thursday, May 24, 11:59 a.m.
News

UM works to balance the budget

State funding increase will help, but won't meet needs

By Mariah Cunningham
Posted on April 05, 2007, at 12:00 a.m.

The University of Maine will receive a 5.3 percent increase of $9.4 million in state funding for the fiscal years of 2008 and 2009.

On Thursday March 29, Janet Waldron, vice president for administration for UMaine, presented the preliminary budget for the 2008 fiscal year.

The current budget for fiscal year 2007 is $190.3 million for Education and General Funds. E&G funds support campus operations and academic areas. The E&G funds come from tuition and state funding.

Maine state revenues are predicted to drop about $75 million for the end of the current fiscal year and for the fiscal years of 2008 and 2009. This could mean a drop in state funding for the university. Baldacci’s base budget funding is only $180.2 million.

For the 2007 E&G budget, 44.5 percent of the money comes from state funds and 39.8 percent comes from tuition. For the 2006 fiscal year, 46 percent of the money came from state funds and 38 percent came from tuition.

“Public universities are confronted with increased pressures on tuition and fees as the amount of increase in state appropriation declines,” Waldron said.

The University of Maine System requested an increase of $20 million for the Maine Economic Improvement Fund (MEIF). However, the amount proposed by Gov. Baldacci is a $3 million increase to the base rate. The rate of return on MEIF dollars is $5 in other funding for every dollar given by the state. The MEIF assists the local and state economy by doing research and adding jobs.

The budget for fiscal year 2008 needs to be balanced. Without sufficient state funding there is increased reliance on tuition and fees. The university is also working to reduce costs, especially the energy costs, and to make cuts.

UMaine President Robert Kennedy has announced a plan to raise over $150 million in private gifts over a five- to six-year period. Some of the funds will be put into scholarship funds to help make UMaine more affordable for students.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 5th, 2007, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.

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