Perdue blasts proposed college cuts

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March 5, 2010

AP Associated Press Fri Mar 05, 2010, 08:18 AM EST

ATLANTA — Gov. Sonny Perdue on Thursday assailed state legislators for pushing deep cuts he said could dismantle the state’s world-class university system.“It’s not going to happen on my watch,” Perdue vowed at a state Capitol news conference.

“I’ve been very chagrined at some of the scare tactics and fear mongering that have gone on.”

With the state staring down another huge budget shortfall, Perdue proposed that the Regents shoulder $265 million in cuts for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Legislators said the university system might need to take another $300 million on top of that and asked them to come up with an outline of what those cuts might look like.

University officials have warned such a sharp drop in revenues could force tuition hikes of up to 77 percent and the elimination of popular programs, like 4-H.

The chairmen of the House and Senate higher education committees on Thursday tried to alleviate concerns but ultimately said such cuts might be necessary.

State Sen. Seth Harp and Rep. Earl Ehrhart said they hoped that the $300 million hit could be avoided. But they could offer no real assurances,

“Unfortunately, we don’t have the money,” said Harp, R-Midland. “We have to balance the budget.”

Perdue has proposed taxing hospitals and health care plans to help close the state’s budget gap, but most anti-tax Republican lawmakers don’t like the proposal. Many have pledged not to boost taxes on Georgians in the midst of a crippling economic downturn.

Legislators also are skeptical that tax collections will grow as much as Perdue projected. State money managers are expected to release a report detailing February’s tax collections next week, and Perdue acknowledged on Thursday that there will “very likely be more revenue cuts,” effectively giving lawmakers even less money to spend.

Harp and Ehrhart said that revenue report will give them a road map of how deep cuts to colleges may need to go.

“We hope that $300 million won’t be necessary,” Ehrhart said.

But the Powder Springs Republican said that if they are, legislators would work with Regents officials to find way to soften the blow.

While the state Legislature appropriates money to Georgia’s network of public colleges, it is up to the Board of Regents to decide how that money is spent.

University officials have outlined a doom-and-gloom scenario should the additional cuts be needed, including faculty layoffs and fewer slots for incoming freshmen.

Perdue said Thursday he didn’t think the public college system would have to admit fewer students. But he said it was reasonable to expect that class sizes would increase. And he suggested some sort of tuition hike might be necessary, although he declined to say how much.

“Let me say, unequivocally, that under my administration we will not dismantle a world-class university system we spent over two decades to build up,” he said.

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Perdue blasts proposed college cuts

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