Legislature: Higher education

Higher education stands to lose the greatest appropriation, more than 6 percent of its total budget — nearly $50 million.

Members of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee on Thursday bent toward the pleas of various institutions, decreasing the cuts to one-time funding from $41 million, which could have taken up to 18 percent from some schools, to a 3 percent cut across the board, totaling about $25 million.

"We are not fighting a fair cut in the budget," said Commissioner of Higher Education William A. Sederburg. "We are asking for flexibility in how we meet those cuts."

According to the motion passed out of committee Thursday, individual institutions will have jurisdiction over how their cuts are funded and a prohibition on tuition increases is in effect, so schools "do not place the burden on the backs of the students," said Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo.

Where the money will come from to foot the reduction remains unknown, but Sederburg believes the brunt of a 6 percent budget cut will be born by personnel, as "people make up 70 percent of our budgets." Building improvements, pending property purchases and other one-time expenditures, he said, will also be addressed as sources to make up the windfall.