IOWA CITY — The Board of Regents voted unanimously Thursday to send a message to the state government calling for increased funding for higher education as budget cuts reach what several regents called “a crisis level.”

The letter, which will be sent to the governor and state legislature, notes the benefits public universities bring to the state and calls for a reinvestment in education.

“It is manifestly not in the best interest of this state in any way to reduce educational opportunities for young people,” said Regent Robert Downer of Iowa City, who called for the letter to be sent. “It’s a great frustration to me that apparently this message isn’t being received in a lot of places.”

One regent said the resolution was a good step, but more needed to be done to bring attention to the plight of higher education.

“Unless there is outrage, it doesn’t do any good to pass this [resolution],” said Regent David Neil of La Porte City. “It’s time — we either put up or shut up.”

Downer said the board staff should feel free to call on the regents to personally carry the message to the governor and state Legislature.

During Thursday’s meeting, the presidents of the three public universities and two special schools presented their plans to deal with mid-year budget reductions resulting from Gov. Vilsack’s 2.5 percent across-the-board cut in October and a lower-than-expected enrollment.

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy said the $8.3 million mid-year cut Iowa State experienced needed to be put into context: It was the seventh straight cut the university has had to absorb.

After this most recent cut, state allocations to Iowa State are at the level they were in fall of 1996; at the same time, the university is educating 2,481 more students.

“I’ll tell you what concerns me the most — the impact these budget reductions have on our faculty,” Geoffroy said.

Geoffroy said Iowa State currently ranks last in faculty and staff salaries in its peer group.

“We are progressively moving down the slippery slope from ‘publicly funded’ to ‘publicly assisted,'” Geoffroy said.

The majority of cuts were to administrative offices or outreach functions, such as Extension or the ISU Research Park.

“That ordering is intentional,” Geoffroy said. “We’re doing everything we can to keep cuts from academic programs that affect students.”

However, both Geoffroy and University of Iowa President David Skorton said students were being affected by cuts, most noticeably by having larger class sizes and needing to hold jobs to meet the obligations of rising tuition.

The regents also recommended to the state Legislature the timing of setting tuition be moved back at least four months to give the universities more time to weigh what state allocations might be for the year. The current bill calls for a statutory March deadline, but Regent John Forsyth of Des Moines called for removal of any deadline, saying it was always in the best interest of the board to set tuition as early as possible.

The regents tabled a resolution that would set a minimum level for the financial aid provided for undergraduates, Iowa residents and need-based students in order to gather more information on the needs of Iowans.

Regents also approved a plan and budget for the renovation of Morrill Hall. Although only $6.1 million of the $9 million needed for the project has been raised, Geoffroy expressed confidence that fund raising for the project will be complete by June 30.