Gov. Jennifer Granholm delivers her State of the State address Tuesday night at the state Capitol.
MSU should have a better idea today of how much money it will receive from the state in the next year after Gov. Jennifer Granholm announces her proposed budget for the 2010 fiscal year.
With the $790 billion federal economic stimulus package awaiting President Barack Obama’s final approval, Michigan has to work around the money the package is expected to bring to the state.
“The governor made it very clear that the stimulus money, whatever the final package looks like, will not be used simply to inflate the budget,” State Budget Office spokeswoman Leslee Fritz said. “It will be used as intended — for a one-time purpose.”
Several states have delayed the announcement of their budget proposals until the stimulus plan is finalized, and others have proposed budgets based on what they expect to receive, according to The Associated Press. But Fritz said Michigan’s budget recommendation will be made in its entirety today.
The budget will include a combination of solutions to address a $1.6 billion deficit the state faces, Fritz said. She said she could not comment on specifics of where cuts will be made, or what governmental sectors will be reformed.
Cuts often are made in areas where the individuals affected are not politically active, assistant James Madison College professor Michael Craw said.
Young people typically fit that description in regards to fighting rising tuition rates, he said.
“That could be bad news for students, actually,” he said. “The budget could, for example, say that the state’s universities need to be more self-sufficient.”
English junior John Dallman said because education already is expensive, few students are actively involved in fighting tuition increases.
“The American educational system has a tendency to increase prices,” Dallman said. “I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised if she cut funding, but I’d be saddened.”
If the budget contains higher education funding cuts, more pressure could be placed on universities to increase tuition. But because Granholm has proposed a tuition freeze, Craw said universities might look at other alternatives, such as reducing some experimental programs.
Doug Roberts, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at MSU, said he hopes the stimulus package improves the economy by increasing state revenue.
Roberts said although he hopes for an increase in funding for higher education, he is unsure whether that will happen.
“A tuition freeze puts constraints on university budgets,” he said.
“It’s pretty hard to come up with extra money for the university when part of the revenue is frozen.”
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