That's starting to happen at the Capitol, and the news for higher education is not good. The House and Senate spending targets above would be trims off the Governor's number. That's an opportunity for students, faculty, staff and friends of higher education to let lawmakers know about the budget picture. While inflation is pretty much in check, there still is an upward trend in supplies, library resources and other costs.
Nothing is cast in stone as yet.
There's no agreement on the size of a tax rebate, the size of permanent tax reductions, and the spending targets. The targets cited above seem pretty firm but have not been formally announced. Several presidents have reported inquiries concerning MnSCU college, university and system office reserves as a source of money instead of new funds from the legislature. A little background may be helpful in responding to this suggestion. The Board Policy is clear - reserves are an expectation of each school.