UW

University of Washington campus

OLYMPIA, Wash. - The state Office of Financial Management has asked colleges and other state agencies to develop plans for cuts of up to 20 percent in expected spending.

That could be worth about $600 million over the next two years for the higher education system. The Seattle Times reports a cut of that magnitude likely would cut thousands of students from the state's 34 community and technical colleges, and probably put a hold on the University of Washington's plans to double enrollment at campuses in Bothell and Tacoma.

On Wednesday, the state Revenue Forecast Council announced the dismal news that the state faces a $5.1 billion budget deficit.

The state Office of Financial Management is preparing for a tight state budget, said spokesman Glenn Kuper. The requests came before Wednesday's state revenue forecast that projected a deficit of $4.6 billion for the next two-year budget.

"We are trying to get as much information as possible as to where institutions would find reductions," said Financial Management spokesman Glenn Kuper. A cut of that magnitude ending up in the governor's draft budget next month is "definitely a possibility."

"These are uncharted waters for us," said Randy Hodgins, the UW's director of state relations. "This is beyond belt-tightening, there's no doubt about that."

State higher-education money is the biggest purse of unprotected dollars in the state's budget. Other state services, such as K-12 education and prisons, are protected by state or federal mandates.

Colleges and universities "are the largest of the discretionary part of government," said Victor Moore, the governor's budget director. "When you have to look at the size of the budget challenge we have, you have to look at them and make tough choices."

Hodgins said a 20 percent cut in state funding to the UW would mean a loss of $167 million over the next two years. That would mean larger class sizes, fewer programs and perhaps fewer students.

"We can kiss enrollment expansion goodbye," he said, referring to plans the UW unveiled over the summer to ramp up enrollment at its Tacoma and Bothell campuses.

"The biggest problem with the higher-education budget is that this is when it's most needed," said UW President Mark Emmert. "The best way to drive forward the economy is through education and innovation."

Emmert said it's too early to talk about specific cuts.

Charlie Earl, the executive director of the state Board for Community and Technical Colleges, said state officials asked the agency to run a scenario that cuts some $300 million from the $1.5 billion biennial budget for the state's 34 community and technical colleges.

He said that at a minimum, colleges would need to cut about 6,000 full-time students enrolled beyond the 139,000 funded by the state, and end the policy of opening the doors to all eligible students. Earl said there would also be job cuts and course reductions.

Larry Ganders, assistant to the president at Washington State University, said it has already started to reduce the total number of courses by one-fifth in anticipation of a lean budget and to focus on priority courses. However, he said the state's numbers represent only one scenario at this point, and he needs to see more details.

At Western Washington University, Sherry Burkey, the acting vice president for external affairs, said the president is talking to key leaders on the campus to figure out potential cuts.

"What's really sad about this is that we've really had some investment in higher-ed in the last two bienniums," she said. "It will probably be decades before we can get those resources back."

Legislative leaders in the state House and Senate said they hope to figure out a way to avoid the types of cuts being discussed by the governor's office.

"I wish that we could look at other options that are more scalpel-like," said House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam.

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, noted that "when there is an economic downturn, people want to go back to school."

"We have to look at the economy and what people need," she said. "I think they're going to need higher education as an option when the work force is tenuous and changing like it is. I hope we can come up with some other ways to avoid that serious of a cut."