The University of Missouri System Board of Curators is meeting today in Kansas City. One item on the agenda, and on everyone's minds, is the budget.
Last year the UM System saved about $75 million by reducing costs plus increasing revenue by about $53 million. These figures were presented at today’s Board of Curators meeting.
Vice President of Finance and Administration Nikki Krawitz says that in order to close the gap in state support and pay for increase in costs from inflation, the administration continually had to find ways to reduce other costs within the organization, including putting off maintenance and repairs. But they’ve also been able to save in areas ranging from energy conservation and contracting to professional development expenses.
“The good part is that we become more efficient and more effective but some of the actions that we have to take in a sense just kick the can down the road, because ultimately we’re going to have deal with the deferred maintenance and repair," Krawitz says. "Ultimately, we’re going to have to purchase the equipment that we’ve put off in the current year.”
In response to the budget challenge in the coming year, Krawitz says the system has to start to look at longer term solutions, while keeping students a priority.
The boards proposed tuition increase won’t be decided today, they’ve opted to take some time to think about it and will hold a vote during a special meeting scheduled to happen sometime this month.
