The fiscal year ended June 30, opening the door for Gov. Tom Vilsack to allocate additional funds to the Iowa Board of Regents and other state agencies, although the status of any potential funding is not yet known.

The allocation of additional state funding to higher education could prevent a 3 percent mid-year tuition increase next spring. The Regents are scheduled to take final action on the tuition increase, which would raise about $5.1 million among Regent institutions, at their July 14 meeting at Iowa State.

“Obviously, the state has a tremendous amount of accounting work to do,” said Matt Paul, a spokesman for Vilsack.

He said because there are many state agencies that could be given additional funds left over at the end of the last fiscal year, it could be weeks before the amount of funding given to the Regents is known.

“The governor has directed the staff to go through as many financial options as we can to prevent a mid-year tuition increase,” Paul said.

Iowa City Regent Bob Downer said funding should be known by the July 14 meeting.

Board President Michael Gartner said some additional funding has already been found, although a dollar amount should not be available for at least a week. He said there is no “magic number” of dollars that, if found by Vilsack, could prevent a tuition increase.

“Whatever the magic number is, he’s probably right around it,” Gartner said, adding that each regent has his or her own idea of how much money is necessary to prevent a tuition increase.

Barb Boose, communications officer for the Board of Regents, said the Board could still discuss a tuition increase, even if the amount of additional funding is not known.

“I think that the Regents will make the best decision they can based on the information they have,” she said.

Boose said the Regents could potentially decrease tuition if an increase is approved at the meeting and additional state funding is given to the board, although the Regents have never before decreased tuition.

According to Daily staff reports, a mid-year tuition increase of 3 percent would bring the total tuition increase next year to 7 percent. The supplemental increase was requested by the three Regent university presidents after a request for a $40 million funding increase by the Regents was under-funded by the Iowa legislature. With $24 million in additional legislative appropriations, this is the first year since 2001 in which the amount of state money spent on higher education has increased.