2% cut is less than was feared
The Courier-Journal
The plan limits cuts to postsecondary education to 2 percent, as opposed to the 4 percent cut that all state agencies, including postsecondary institutions, had been told might come.
"It is very good to see the governor show such strong evidence of the value he places on education at all levels," Eastern Kentucky University President Doug Whitlock said. "I am very supportive of what he has proposed, and I appreciate it."
The cuts are needed to offset a $456 million revenue shortfall in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
Most of the state's universities and colleges had said a 4 percent cut would require them to continue hiring freezes, raid contingency funds, defer needed maintenance and make reductions through a host of other actions. Those included eliminating programs, capping enrollment and reducing financial aid.
The governor's proposal does call for a 4 percent budget cut for the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, the state's higher education coordinating agency. That reduction will likely affect adult education, scholarships and funds for regional stewardship projects, economic development and technology, said Richard Crofts, the council's interim president.
"We will have to make do with what we have to make do with," said Crofts, who noted that in the past 17 months, the council's work force has declined by 15 percent because there is not enough money to replace people who have resigned or retired.
During the news conference in which he laid out his reduction plan, Beshear said deeper cuts to higher education would hurt the state's ability to take advantage of opportunities once the economy improves.
"We cannot make progress tomorrow by going significantly backward in vital areas like education, health care and public safety today," he said.
In a statement, University of Kentucky President Lee Todd said the governor's approach to balancing the budget -- which includes a 70-cent-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax -- would enable Kentucky "to say as loudly as we can that education at all levels is our top priority.
"I strongly support a substantial increase in the cigarette tax, which will help us to invest in education when times are good and find ways to protect our schools when times are tough," he said.
University of Louisville President James Ramsey said the university will be able to manage for the rest of the year without "significant damage to our academic programs."
But while reiterating U of L's strong commitment to a goal of becoming a pre-eminent urban research university, he said: "It's going to be a challenge. … The cumulative effects of the cuts are devastating."
U of L, like other state colleges and universities, previously experienced a 6 percent budget cut this year, forcing many to enact hiring and salary freezes and resort to some layoffs.
The proposed 2 percent cut is the sixth midyear cut higher education institutions have had in the past eight years, Todd said.
Higher 
Still, Wayne D. Andrews, president of Morehead State University, said he was pleased with the governor's proposal.
"He recognized fully that higher education is a solution to the state's long-term challenges," he said.
Reporter Nancy Rodriguez can be reached at (502) 582-7079.