SEMO braces for funding cut

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Southeast Missouri State University officials expect to be able to weather a nearly half-million-dollar cut in state funding for the fiscal year ending June 30.

Southeast president Ken Dobbins said he was bracing for a much larger hit than the $470,511 withholding Gov. Bob Holden announced Friday.

"We are just happy it is not a $4 million cut like it was in May of last year," Dobbins said. "We built up our reserves and will be able to handle this one."

Combined with an earlier round of cuts in February, Southeast's $45.3 million state appropriation for the current fiscal year has been reduced by more than $1.5 million, or 3.4 percent.

Dobbins said the university will consider ways to cut costs during the final weeks of the fiscal year, including allowing employees to voluntarily take unpaid leave, a move that saved Southeast about $35,000 in salaries last summer. Dobbins said no one will be forced to take time off without pay.

Holden made $80 million in withholdings Friday because of lower-than-expected revenue collections.

"We knew by the end of April we were not going to meet our forecast," state budget director Linda Luebbering said.

Education absorbed half of the latest financial hit, with $28.1 million sliced from state aid to local public school districts and $9.4 million withheld from colleges and universities. The remaining $40 million was eliminated from various other state departments.

To date, the governor has made $304.7 million in unscheduled withholdings during the current fiscal year.

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