It’s not raining in Utah, according to Utah lawmakers. At least not yet.
Higher education didn’t get a break from the widespread budget cuts approved Friday by the Utah State Legislature as a reaction to a shaky economy and a $350 million shortage in the state budget.
The state higher education budget was cut 4 percent for the 2009 fiscal year, which stretches from July 2008 to July 2009. The cut amounts to $33.9 million, with $10.5 million of that being cut from the U’s budget. Although the state has $400 million in a rainy day fund, none of it will be touched to help pad the shrinking budgets.
With virtually every state institution besides K-12 education going under the knife, the U isn’t alone. But cutting the higher education budget can only slow Utah’s sputtering economy.
The sweeping cuts might be a quick fix, but will cost the state more in the long run. The state economy is dependent on professionals the U produces each semester. Cutting funding for higher education is like pulling up the economy’s roots.
The $33.9 million higher education cut would have been a drop in the bucket of the $400 million rainy day fund. If such a fund is kept, it should be used in times of need. Constantly holding on to the fund because conditions “could” get worse neutralizes its purpose. Eliminating higher education cuts with the rainy day fund would benefit the state more in the long term. Instead, we are standing in the rain and refusing to use our umbrella because, who knows, it might rain more.
Lawmakers, instead of instituting quick, sweeping cuts, should have been more selective. The $33 million cut facing Medicaid comes after Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. suggested an $18 million Medicaid budget increase for the 2009 fiscal year, deeming the program underfunded. Now the budget will be sitting $51 million below where, according to Huntsman, it should be. Cutting health care coverage will only come back to haunt lawmakers. People who are refused coverage are now going to be leaving their tabs on the state. In the long run, cutting health care only costs the state and tax payers more money.
By cutting budgets indiscriminately and refusing to tap into emergency funds, the Legislature is cutting off its nose to spite its face.
Now that the cuts are certain, the U must be careful in trimming its budget. Program cuts at the U will be determined by administrators. Faculty pay is an especially sensitive issue, and it would be disappointing to see administrators once again increase their own salaries while leaving faculty in the dust.