Higher Education Funding | Video

Kristin Clouston | 2/18/2013

The Senate Appropriations Committee says it can reduce the Governor`s higher ed budget by not allowing the Chancellor to add more employees. The Governor recommended using $21 million to develop a new university system that would streamline education, legislators and board members agree it needs to happen, but don`t agree on how.

The Senate Appropriations Committee wants to reduce money going to the State Board of Education by $1.7 million. That is money the Chancellor wants to use to expand his staff.

"When we came into the session we all realized the Chancellor`s request for added employees was going to be heavily scrutinized. I think the appropriations committee actions are indicative of the scrutiny. So the case really needs to be made, how does the employees coming in to the new office benefit students? That`s the bottom line," said Minority Leader Senator Mac Schneider (D).

The chancellor, Dr. Ham Shirvani, says right now he doesn`t have enough employees to oversee all the changes needed to benefit students.

"That a student has the classes he or she needs to graduate, that he has enough advising, to make sure he is mentored, to make sure the fees and tuition that is charged are absolutely related to the cost and absolutely needed."

Shirvani says this is the smallest group he`s ever worked with, and the demands are higher than the current staff can handle.

The chancellor will be going before the appropriations committee tomorrow to explain his case.

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