Classes may be cut back and paychecks to university employees delayed if the state continues to put off $75 million in payments to three public universities, the Arizona Board of Regents said at a meeting on Thursday.
Arizona officials delayed December payments to the universities — the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University — in an attempt to help offset a $1.4 billion deficit by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
At the meeting, university presidents were asked to draft reports documenting the effects the withheld funds would have on each school, said Jennifer Grentz, a spokeswoman for the Board of Regents. No deadline was set for the reports, but the board is likely to discuss them at a March meeting, when it plans to set tuition rates for the 2010-11 school year.
Though the state’s financial situation is dire, Arizona isn’t the only one suffering.
“Most institutions from 32 different states had decreases of state appropriations,” said Christine M. Keller, director of research and policy analysis for the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, a nonprofit research organization. About one-third of the 188 institutions the APLU surveyed reported cuts of 10 percent or more.
According to the Arizona Daily Star, the state paid $47 million in tuition money to the three universities, but its delay of a general fund payment — used to pay bills and employees — was forcing the schools to dip into their cash reserves.
Johnny Cruz, a spokesman for the University of Arizona, said the school’s cash reserves would cover expenses “in the short term.”
The Arizona Daily Star also reported that Northern Arizona University would most likely use its short-term reserves. Arizona State University plans to use operating cash for its spending costs, the Star reported.
The regents drafted a letter to Gov. Jan Brewer asking her to make a double payment to the universities this month. According to the letter, delaying payments could lead to lower bond ratings for the universities, which means the schools will have to pay higher interest rates if they borrow money for varied projects, the Star reported.
This is not the first time payments to the universities have been withheld, Cruz said.
In May 2009, the universities volunteered to have funds delayed at the state’s request.
A version of this article appeared in print on page 6 of the Tucson 2010 edition of The New York Times Student Journalism Institute.