Regents look to tighten belt

The Regents’ Finance and Facilities Committee met Dec. 9 to prepare for the next fiscal year and discuss UNM’s plans to sustain state budget cuts without raising tuition.

Acting President Paul Roth said UNM cannot afford to continue funding every program, and academic departments will take priority over auxiliary programs when making any cuts. He said even in doing so, the University will not account for the $28 million hit.

“We have ‘x’ number of dollars coming into the place, and there is ‘x’ plus ‘y’ that is going out, and that’s just math,” he said. “It’s not even a college prep course that you need to understand that basic principle. We don’t have enough money coming into the place to sustain what we currently do.”

Roth and Andrew Cullen, associate vice president for the Office of Planning, Budget and Analysis, presented a main campus three-year financial plan to the board. Roth said online department revenue and expense reports will be available Jan. 10.

Regent Gene Gallegos targeted shutting down expendable programs, including the UNM golf course, UNM Press and Continuing Education. He said raising tuition will deny students access to the University.

“What are the economics of keeping the price the same and having more students in terms of overall revenue as opposed to upping the price and having less students?” he said. “… This ship is heading towards an iceberg that is three months away and we are talking about a three-year solution before we decide how we are going to turn to starboard.”

Committee Chairmember Jerry Geist said the regents are going to have to make difficult decisions while downsizing, but it’s for the University’s benefit.

“This is a presentation strategy on how we are going to go from A to B,” he said. “We use existing funding that we can get a hold of to bridge to point B is very sensible. It’s not life or death, but it is life or death for parts of this institution.”

Instead of blaming each other, Regents’ President Raymond Sanchez said, UNM community members should work together to address budget issues.

“I just want us to stop about who is right and who is wrong,” he said. “It’s what it is. Let’s just recognize that fact and move on. It is time that this nonsense stops.”