A subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee has begun studying the higher education budget.
The subcommittee is working off the new budget proposal submitted by Gov. Doug Burgum. That proposal is for $507 million for the University System. That’s down from the original 2015-2017 base budget of $614 million. And it's down from the post-allotment base of $567 million.
"This is not a 'reign of terror,' like the French Revolution," said Appropriations Committee chair Sen. Ray Holmberg (R-Grand Forks), who is also chairing the higher education subcommittee. "But I think administrative and professional positions need to be well-represented on the march to the guillotine."
Holmberg said while most campuses were able to meet the 6.55 percent budget allotments in 2016 by cutting some one-time spending, others have already started slicing on-going costs.
