Budget cuts proposed by Gov. Matt Bevin would hit Kentucky State University at a vulnerable period and ultimately imperil the very existence of the historically black institution, says President Raymond Burse.
Burse said Bevin’s proposed cuts and a new performance-based funding system for higher education would undercut a years-long plan to improve the university.
Kentucky State enrollment has dropped in recent years under more stringent enforcement of admission standards and rules for students to pay their bills to the university.
Burse made the comments during an interview with WFPL News on Monday.
Kentucky State had asked the state for increased funding while it recovered from the enrollment decrease, he said.
Instead, the Frankfort state university and others are facing a 4.5 percent budget cut this fiscal year and a 9 percent budget cut in the next.
After Bevin proposed cuts last month, the Kentucky State administration undertook an analysis of how it could move forward, Burse said.
The analysis found that the university may not be able to move forward at all. At the very least, Kentucky State would be put in a financial crisis that would lead to reduced programs and “head counts,” he said.
Burse said the university has shared its analysis with the Bevin administration and will lobby against the funding cuts to the governor and state legislators.
“We’re fighting and working to make certain, or to try to make certain, that those cuts don’t come into effect and that we’re able to stabilize and continue to build on Kentucky State University’s 130-year existence,” Burse said.
About 34 percent of Kentucky State’s budget comes from the state general fund, Burse said. The next largest revenue source is tuition.
Bevin’s proposal to base university funding from the state on performance would be particularly difficult for Kentucky State, Burse said. The university is undergoing assessments of its programs, post-tenure reviews and other initiatives aimed at improving its academic standing. He said those initiatives will be a years-long process; meanwhile, the state would begin allocating funding based on performance that the school is trying to improve.
“We had issues we were working on prior to the proposed budget cuts and we’ll continue working on those,” Burse said. “But when we’re already working on things that were detrimental to us, the budget cuts on top of it just exacerbates the situation.”
In a statement Monday evening, the Bevin Administration said:
“Gov. Bevin continues to discuss the issues surrounding the potential impacts of his budget proposal with all of the University presidents. President Burse has shared his concerns with the governor and KSU’s tuition stabilization proposal is being evaluated within that broader context.”
From Kentucky School Boards Association Communications