Representative Jerry Henry (D-Atchison) speaking against the funding cut. (Photo by Stephen Koranda)
A Kansas House committee has voted to eliminate around $30 million from the state’s colleges and universities. That amounts to a 4 percent across-the-board funding cut for fiscal year 2014. The top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Jerry Henry from Atchison, said the cut would hurt job growth in Kansas and cause tuition increases.
Republican Ward Cassidy, from St. Francis, suggested the reduction. Yesterday (MON), the committee had voted to cut around $15 million from the Board of Regents budget. Cassidy said today (TUE) that his proposal, while putting a larger reduction in place, will spread out the cuts more fairly. He said lawmakers may be able to restore funding later in the budget process.