A special meeting of the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees is scheduled Tuesday, Dec. 13, for board members to hear the university's response to requests for three possible budget-cutting scenarios.
The meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. in the Old Main board room. The meeting is open to the public.
The Legislature's Joint Appropriations Committee has asked all state agencies to submit plans to reduce their state-funded budgets by 5 and 8 percent. Gov. Matt Mead, meanwhile, has separately requested a 2 percent budget-reduction plan.
In response to the requests, the UW Board of Trustees in November directed President Tom Buchanan to develop a process for (1) soliciting input from UW stakeholders on the principles and priorities to be considered in identifying reductions of these amounts and (2) developing a plan to implement the reductions, should they occur.
A 2 percent cut would reduce state general fund appropriations to UW by $3.7 million a year starting in July 2012. A 5 percent cut would mean a $9.2 million annual reduction, and an 8 percent cut would total $14.7 million per year.
Buchanan expects to discuss the university's plans in mid-January when UW officials meet with the JAC to discuss the FY 2013-14 biennial budget request. Whether it will be necessary to implement actual budget reductions will depend on the outcomes of the Legislature's 2012 budget session, which is scheduled to run Feb. 13-March 9.
