Lawmakers slash UMass funding request $26M
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State lawmakers put forth a state budget funding UMass at a level significantly below what the university system requested.
As the University of Massachusetts prepares to make a decision on student tuition and fee levels based on the state budget, House and Senate lawmakers on Thursday were working to pass a new spending accord for fiscal 2017 that falls $25.5 million short of the university's funding request.
The decision means students could be in store for higher cost hikes next year than the reasonable tuition and fee increases UMass President Marty Meehan suggested could be achieved with the right level of state support.
Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Karen Spilka said Wednesday that the budget accord reached between House and Senate negotiators funded UMass at $508.3 million, or $539.4 million when adjusted for tuition retention, representing a 1.4 percent increase.
The appropriation was consistent with what had been proposed by Gov. Charlie Baker back in January and approved by the House in April, but fell short of the $521.3 million passed by the Senate in its May version of the budget. It is also well below the $564.9 million UMass officials requested from legislative budget writers.
"We recognize that our appropriation reflects the very recent news about the state's fiscal circumstances becoming more challenging and appreciate the fact that the Legislature was forced to make difficult decisions," UMass spokesman Robert Connolly said in a statement to the News Service.
Legislative budget writers lowered the bottom line of the final spending plan headed to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk by $413 million in response to shrinking revenue estimates that prompted leaders to lower their tax collection expectations by $750 million.
Meehan earlier this month recommended to the university's board of trustees that a decision on tuition and fees for the next school year be put on hold until the fiscal 2017 state budget was finalized.
"Our goal of course is to arrive at the best possible appropriation so that we can mitigate what we will need to implement for tuition," Meehan said.
Connolly said Thursday that Meehan, campus chancellors and trustees will take the next two weeks to review the "full range of options the University possesses as we try to balance the very real and important considerations of maintaining the quality and excellence people expect from UMass, with the access and affordability considerations that are vital to students and families across the Commonwealth."
A special board of trustees meeting has been scheduled for July 14.
Spilka also said that other state universities received a $250.3 million appropriation in the fiscal 2017 budget deal, up about 2 percent or $5 million. Community colleges also stand to see a 1.4 percent increase in funding over fiscal 2016 with their state funding total climbing $3.9 million to $273.9 million.
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