The Board of Governors issued a budget request in November to then-Gov. Jim Hunt asking for $4.7 billion in funding from the General Assembly for the 2001-02 fiscal year. The system already has $2.5 billion of that sum in hand thanks to the bond package passed in November, leaving $2.2 billion that it will seek from state coffers.
Newly elected Gov. Mike Easley, before granting the BOG request, will review all existing government programs and new spending proposals before sending the budget to the state legislature. "We are currently looking into examining the entire budget," said Ruffin Poole, press secretary for Easley. "We are in the process of analyzing the information from all the departments."
The General Assembly has issued warnings to state agencies about the funding shortfall and the need for state agencies to return a percentage of its budget to the state.
Jeff Davies, UNC-system vice president of finance, said the system has not yet been asked to do this.
"We are concerned about this semester's budget, but because we have not yet been notified about (spring 2001) semester reversions, like other government agencies, our outlook is towards next year's commitments," Davies said.
Davies said he is not sure how the deficit will affect system schools. "The availability of resources is a concern for all of our commitments."
Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, warned that the budget deficit could have a severe impact on UNC-system schools if the BOG is not granted the full amount of money it requested. "The schools can not sustain a hit without damage to their programs," Rand said.
Sen. Virginia Foxx, R-Alleghany, said she does not know if the bond referendum will have any impact on UNC-system funding but said the bond money was supposed to address the most immediate needs of the UNC system.
Foxx also said she is not surprised that the system asked for such a large sum of money. "The university will never believe that they have enough money."
