It’s already raised tuition.
And the looming million dollar budget shortfall has spurred a two-year, $2 student energy charge as well.
“It’s not a happy situation, but we will make sure that academics are not impacted,” said President Richard Pattenaude. “The goal is to maintain the integrity of the institution.”
The State Legislature approved a 4.2 percent university system budget increase for this year. “Which is helpful,” Pattenaude said.
But the extra $1.5 million for USM – which received $78.6 million total – still leaves the University with an estimated shortfall that could be over $1 million, Pattenaude said.
“We have a sense,” he said, “so these are our best estimates.”
And that’s after the 3.5 percent tuition hike – about $100 more for students per semester – and the estimated rise in enrollment was factored in.
The estimated 2.5 percent increase in state funding for the next school year looks even more bleak, Pattenaude said, especially considering health insurance costs for faculty and staff may increase by 45 percent, about $3.5 million university wide.
“We’re hoping the Legislature will look at it again,” said Pattenaude. In January, state representatives will review funding for the university system, and USM will be there to urge representatives to give more money.
The shortfalls are due mostly to increases in labor, energy and health costs. Because these costs affect everything across the state from city governments to state organizations, Pattenaude said. It means that everyone is asking the Legislature for more.
“That puts a double squeeze on things,” Pattenaude said.
If the projected shortfall hits hard, he said, the University will have to cut positions and place a hiring freeze on employees.
This would not be the first budget shortfall to occur during Pattenaude’s tenure. In the early 1990s, when he first came to USM, the recession of the 1980s brought on a shortfall of $5.5 million.
“This will be another significant challenge for the University,” Pattenaude said. And whether or not the problem gets better “depends on the economy.”
News Editor Glen Bolduc can be contacted at: [email protected]