That's not a lot. If that 3 percent comes out of your particular portion of the budget, though, it could decimate it. Other projects such as the system's much-needed research money is also on the chopping block, Bennett said. If the university system loses that money, it would mean a loss of millions of dollars of federal matching funds. One hope for avoiding such last-ditch measures could come from a legislative move to change the state's tax structure, something that is gaining support in the Legislature, according to several lobbyists for the university system.
Universities can cut into their endowment earnings to get extra money.
The endowment pool is like a long-term savings account. The other option is to dip into the system's estate tax savings. It's not a pleasant situation, because the university situation is now at its base budget. Read our policy on privacy and cookies.