For Release June 26
Regents Committee Holds Preliminary Discussions on FY 98' Budget Requests
BROOKINGS--The Board of Regents Committee on Budget and Finance reviewed the university system's preliminary budget request for Fiscal Year 1998 today and it is one that calls for the smallest increase in several years. Committee discussions will continue, but no final action will be taken before presentation to the full Board in August.
Board of Regents Executive Director Dr. Robert T. Tad Perry characterized the preliminary budget request as "not a wish list, but rather, an identification of critical needs for the universities and are the result of difficult decisions made by university leadership who embodied sound business management." Regent Cathy Hall of Aberdeen, referring to the thrift of the budget request, said, "This budget request is fiscally responsive to the situation of the state while at the same time attempting to protect the current assets of South Dakota's university system."
The focus of the request centers on trying to maintain current facilities, human resources, and technology infrastructure. The Board recognizes the importance of infrastructure reinvestments for maintenance and repair projects. Furthermore, the state's universities are striving to protect assets in two vital areas: faculty and current technology. Board of Regents President Karl Wegner said, "Achieving competitiveness through modernization of technology and in faculty recruitment and retention through salary enhancements are paramount to maintaining the health of the South Dakota's universities as competition in higher education increases."
The Board reviewed the budget request but no action will be taken until the Board meets at Spearfish in August. The Board will then forward its request to the executive branch for review and inclusion in the Governor's FY98 budget request to be released later this year.
In Other Board Action:
Tomorrow the Board of Regents will take up a proposal by Pierre's Capital University Center Board of Directors to merge into the Board of Regents system for the delivery of postsecondary education to the state's capital city. A committee composed of Regents staff and CUC Directors will work out details of the merger and will report to the Board at its August meeting.
CUC has provided university educational service to the Pierre area since 1982 in concert with Regental institutions. Over the past year a committee of representatives from Regental institutions has been working with CUC staff to develop different approaches to facilitate student interface with a coordinated delivery structure of higher education.
Dr. Robert T. Tad Perry, Executive Director of the Board of Regents, said that "the results of this collaborative merger will bring enhanced access to citizens in the central area of the state, reduce duplication of activities among institutions, and save taxpayer and student resources through better coordination of management." Perry went on to say that "the merger represents a shift of responsibility for oversight of an already existent entity and will not involve increased costs, staff, or facilities."