PULLMAN WSU was notified by the State of Washington Office of Financial Management (OFM) Tuesday that it will be asked to reduce its budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year by $6 million, as part of a $240 million state government budget reduction.
“We fully realize this is a difficult financial time,” WSU President Elson S. Floyd said. “WSU is continuing to control and contain expenditures and will do our part to help the state address the current budget challenges.”
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Joan King |
According to Joan King, WSU’s executive director of budget and planning, “OFM has quantified the amount that WSU is expected to save through reductions in travel, equipment purchases, hiring and personal services contracts. This total is $5.1 million.”
She said that WSU’s share of Gov. Christine’s Gregoire’s additional one percent budget reduction would be $900,000. Together the total cut is $6 million from the current fiscal year’s funding. The reduction represents about 2.4 percent of WSU’s total state allocation of $254 million.
“We are in the midst of budget analysis to provide WSU leaders with the data they need to help decide how to handle this cut,” King said. This includes projecting how much money the university has already saved.
Floyd directed university leadership in April to slow hiring and reduce other expenses in anticipation of a possible economic downturn. Due to the cost-saving actions which have been taken, WSU has already made some progress toward the $6 million reduction.
“I will work to minimize the impact any additional cuts will have on our students and faculty,” Floyd said. “Despite this budget reduction, we will continue to do our best to serve the needs of the citizens of the state of Washington.”
King said budget planning meetings involving the president, provost, deans and vice presidents will occur soon.
“The budget process that we put in place will help us both with this current year’s cut and with planning for the 2009-2011 biennial budget which is expected to be a difficult one,” King said.
