UAFS to lose $432,254 in state funding

Arkansas budget cuts announced Tuesday (Oct. 20) pull $432,254 from the $20.242 million in fiscal year 2010 state funds budgeted for the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

Gov. Mike Beebe has cut the state budget by $100 million for the current fiscal year, citing a decline state revenue collections. The new funding level — aka, net available revenue — for fiscal year 2010 (July 2009-June 2010) is $4.408 billion. Total gross collections are estimated to reach $5.52 billion, down 0.7% from fiscal year 2009 collections.

All of Arkansas’ four-year public universities saw budget cuts, with the percentage cut ranging from a high of 2.33% (University of Arkansas) to 2% (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Child Safety Center). The UAFS cut was 2.14%.

Mark Horn, vice chancellor of finance and administration at UAFS, said the 2010 budget approved by the UA board of trustees included a set aside of almost $400,000 to be “held as insurance against a downward revision in the state revenue forecast.”

The cut announced Tuesday may also be alleviated by tuition revenue from a 10% growth in full-time equivalent students at UAFS. Also, UAFS budgets all faculty and staff positions as if they will be filled for the entire year. That’s never a reality, and money from the unfilled vacancies can be used to help in other areas.

While the cuts are unpleasant but somewhat manageable, Horn says he would not be surprised if other cuts are announced.

“This does concern me, but on the other hand, I think we’re positioned right now to absorb this first blow,”  Horn explained. “It does put us in a mode to say, ‘Where do we go should this (other cuts) occur?’”

He said UAFS officials will work on an “inventory of responses” to handle possible future cuts.

Russellville-based Arkansas Tech University, which has an active and growing campus in Ozark, saw its $31.558 million expected from the state cut by $673,164. As a group, the state’s four-year public universities saw a cut of $12.759 million, or about 2.17% of the original fiscal year 2010 state proceeds of $588.094 million.

OTHER CUTS
• Rich Mountain Community College in Mena lost $68,321 from its 2010 state funding of $3.22 million.

• Arkansas’ public school fund had $38.097 million cut from its 2010 budget of $1.896 billion.

• The state’s budget for human services saw a $21.114 million cut from the 2010 budget of $1.02 billion.

• The Arkansas Department of Correction will lose $9.151 million from its expected 2010 state proceeds of $290.454 million — a cut of 3.15%.

• The Arkansas State Police loses $1.99 million from its 2010 budget of $63.257 million.

• The Arkansas Department of Health — not included in the state’s overall human services budget — will have $3.631 million cut from its 2010 budget of $93.216 million.