Flickr photo by J. Stephen Conn
A setback for the University of Kansas Medical Center in state budget discussions yesterday (MON). A Kansas Senate committee has voted to cut $10 million dollars that had been intended to help pay for a new health education building on the campus. Senator Tom Arpke, a Republican from Salina, originally proposed the cut. Arpke pointed to the tuition increases at KU compared to other universities in the state.
Arpke says he believes the university has other funds that could be used for the new facility. The director of state relations for KU, Kathy Damron (DAM-ren), says they’ve been leading efforts among Regent’s institutions to find efficiencies. Senator Laura Kelly, a Topeka Democrat, offered an amendment to restore the funding.
Her amendment failed to garner enough votes. Governor Sam Brownback had included the funding in his budget proposal for improvements at KU Med, as part of a plan to increase the number of physicians in Kansas. The cut will be considered by the full Senate when the chamber votes on the state budget.