April 3, 2015
Legislative action, budget update
Dear K-State Faculty and Staff,
We have pledged to keep the K-State family updated throughout the development of the higher education budget during the 2015 legislative session. In the early part of the session, the Kansas Senate proposal for higher education had a proposed cut for K-State for the next two years, while the Kansas House proposal had a flat budget with no cuts.
During a recent joint House and Senate committee meeting to work through the differences in higher education funding between the two chambers, a proposal was presented that would prevent budget cuts to K-State but would impose a tuition freeze for the next two years. It has been widely reported in the media that we agreed with such a proposal. Please be assured that we have not endorsed this current proposal. We were unaware of this proposed tuition freeze until yesterday, and believe that such an action would have a devastating effect on our ability to continue to meet the educational needs of Kansas citizens. The budget is still in deliberation and debate will continue when the Legislature returns to session in late April.
We will be working hard in conjunction with the other Regents institutions, the Kansas Board of Regents and our elected officials to get this changed. I certainly understand the angst that this proposal is causing within the campus community, and we will do everything possible to get a funding package for higher education that does not include a tuition freeze.
I would remind everyone that things can change rapidly during a legislative session, and we will do all we can to keep everyone updated. I appreciate those of you who reached out to me with your questions and concerns over the past 24 hours.
If you have any other questions, please contact me at any time.
Regards,
Kirk Schulz