On Wednesday morning, Gov. Gregoire unveiled a budget that would eliminate many services for the poor and also would make dramatic cuts in education funding. Tuition would increase by 22 percent over two years at the UW, WSU and Western Washington University. But even with the cuts, colleges and universities would experience $220 million in cuts.
The governor outlines her proposals in a 40-page document.
Local news coverage: Seattle Times | Associated Press
What’s the UW done for you lately?
The University of Washington is first and foremost a place that educates the citizens of Washington State. But as a public university, we’re so much more than an institution on Montlake. UW students, faculty, staff and alumni are making an impact everyday in communities throughout the state. They are your teachers, your doctors, your problem-solvers and even your next-door neighbors.
Today, we’re excited to launch a initiative called “UW in Your Community”– a dynamic, interactive web map showing the many ways the UW is making a difference in each of the state’s 49 legislative districts. Did you know that UW students have designed and built greenhouses as part of redevelopment in Twisp? Or that 18,000 UW alumni live in the 5th district near Issaquah? Or that UW faculty are helping kids get ready for for college in high schools throughout the state?
Click the icon to your right to find out more about the UW in Your Community!
Actions taken by the state legislature, meeting Saturday, are expected to trim about $700 million from the state budget deficit for the current fiscal year ending in June 2011. The cuts include $51 million from higher education, including $11.4 million from the UW. The UW cut formalizes action taken by Gov. Gregoire in September when she announced across-the-board reductions and is not a new budget reduction.
The UW’s Office of Planning & Budgeting has prepared this summary.
Gov. Gregoire is expected this week to announce her proposals for cutting at least $4.6 billion from the next two-year budget, which runs through 2013.
Local coverage: Seattle Times.
Gov. Chris Gregoire and legislative leaders have decided to convene a special session this Saturday morning. See the governor’s statement about the special session and read her special session proclamation.
Gov. Chris Gregoire has called a special session of the Legislature to deal with the budget crisis. A date hasn’t been set, but she said it’ll be before Christmas.
Local news coverage: Seattle Times | SeattlePI.com | KOMONews.com | KING5.com | Q13fox.com
In news from Olympia, Gov. Chris Gregoire appointed Suzan DelBene to be the state’s next revenue director. Here’s the news release from the governor’s office. (Opens in a new window.)
Officials are now saying the state is expected to take in $1.2 billion less in tax revenue than projected between now and June 2013, according to The Seattle Times. (Read the article.)
Gov. Chris Gregoire said that would mean a loss of $385 million for the current biennium. She added in a prepared statement that “the Legislature will need to act quickly” to address the situation.
According to The Times, Gregoire’s office said she wants to hear from legislative leaders to see if there’s any chance for quick agreement on a solution before deciding on a possible special session.
At its October meeting, the UW Board of Regents heard a student enrollment presentation that provided a sense of the size and scope of the UW’s instructional enterprise. The UW Office of Planning and Budgeting posted highlights of the presentation on its blog.
President Mark A. Emmert left the UW on Oct. 1, 2010, to become president of the NCAA. Provost Phyllis Wise is serving as interim president. See our Presidential Search page for more information.
The UW Office of Planning and Budgeting has launched a new blog called OPBlog: Higher Ed Junction. It will be a source for up-to-date information, including updates, analysis and links to the many things we work on such topics as the state budget and higher education policy news and trends. We invite you to check it out.