Cutback outcome outlined

Cutting the university system's budget by 8 percent could delay the opening of new buildings at UNLV, leave dozens of faculty positions unfilled at UNR, and directly affect students, a new memo by Chancellor Jim Rogers warned Thursday.

The memo was sent to the Board of Regents and Gov. Jim Gibbons, who has asked Rogers to come up with a plan to cut the university system budget in anticipation of state revenue shortfalls.

Rogers, who has remained adamant about not presenting such a contingency plan to the governor, said his memo was meant to highlight areas that might be hit at Nevada's two universities if the threatened budget cuts materialize.

And the memo doesn't paint a pretty picture.

At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, officials could be forced to delay opening two of its new buildings, the Science and Engineering building and Greenspun Hall.

Student services programs would be forced to make cutbacks, and maintenance projects would be delayed indefinitely.

At the University of Nevada, Reno, officials might suspend searches for 55 faculty and staff, terminate the library's collection budget for new books, or halt the use of graduate students for the spring semester.

"It is horrifying," Board of Regents Chairman Michael Wixom said Thursday. "It would be a big setback for us."

The memo didn't discuss budget cut possibilities at the state's six other higher education institutions.

For Rogers, the multimillionaire TV station owner who is the face of the state's higher education system, the memo is a change in strategy as he fights to keep the system's budget intact.

"I am sure when you read the UNLV and UNR summaries, you too will conclude that the (university) System has very serious problems going forward," the memo states.

Rogers, along with Wixom, will visit the governor in Carson City on Monday to paint what he calls a dire picture for higher education.

Rogers hopes he can change Gibbons' mind.

"When people talk, things tend to get done," he said.

Board of Regents Vice Chairman Howard Rosenberg said sending the bombastic and abrupt Rogers along with the cool and level-headed Wixom to talk with Gibbons was a smart choice.

Other regents, some of whom have been critical of Rogers' refusal to come up with a plan for Gibbons, praised him for changing course.

"We are advocates of higher education, and we need to tell the story and get it across what this is going to do ... if we face any of these cuts," Regent Steve Sisolak said.

Should the cuts go through, they would add to a perfect storm of funding problems for UNLV.

The university already is budgeting for cuts based on falling enrollment, and officials fear they might fare worse when the Legislature meets again in 2009.

To deal with the budget shortfalls, officials might cut the number of part-time faculty, who make up roughly 45 percent of teaching instructors at the university.

But cutting part-time faculty would increase class sizes, and the university doesn't have the physical capacity to house larger class sizes, said Gerry Bomotti, UNLV vice president for finance and business administration.

Bomotti said things could become worse should the governor ask for even larger cuts.

Gibbons originally asked for plans to accommodate 5 percent cuts, but that grew to 8 percent. On Thursday, state officials said the latest revenue figures were far worse than even those projections.

"If those shortfalls continue to climb... the impact would be tantamount to 'starting to close the doors,' " Rogers' memo states.

Instead of cutting the state's budget, Rogers has urged Gibbons to either tap into the state's rainy day fund or raise taxes. Gibbons has refused to do either.

The governor has protected certain state agencies from cuts, including kindergarten through 12th grade public education.

The state's prison system is one of the protected areas, a fact at which Rogers scoffed, saying, "Here we are, we build a lot of prisons, but we cut the higher ed budget. That's backwards. That defies logic."

Regents will discuss the proposed budget cuts today during their meeting at UNLV.

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0440.