SU President Gregory Geoffroy presented the updated 2003—04 academic year budget Tuesday to be discussed before the Board of Regents on Thursday.

The budget plan outlined an expected $20.4 million increase in new revenue for the next academic year, but a $30.8 million increase in expenses. This will inevitably leave the university to make up the difference, $10.4 million, internally, through the shifting of funds, Geoffroy said.

“We made the strategic decision to use the tuition revenue that students are paying to support the part of the university that is mostly focused on their education — the general university fund,” Geoffroy said.

The reallocation of funds will take place within two divisions of the university budget known as the general university budget and the non-general university budget. The general university budget, which covers the basic operations of the university including academic affairs, colleges, student affairs, buildings and grounds, the library and central administration, will experience a $7 million mix, Geoffroy said.

The remainder of the difference, $3.4 million, will be made up through cuts to the non-general university fund.

The $30.8 million increase in spending planned for the next academic year includes $9.9 million for faculty and staff salary increases, $10.9 million for unavoidable cost increases and $10 million for strategic initiatives, Geoffroy said.

The bulk of the unavoidable cost increase includes funds for a $7 million increase to student financial aid in order to help counter the tuition hike, Geoffroy said. Other major items listed for the increase in unavoidable costs include Memorial Union operations and funding for opening new buildings on campus this coming academic year.

The $10 million increase for strategic initiatives includes activities which the university needs to move ahead with, Geoffroy said. This list includes funding for new faculty positions, focused academic initiatives, faculty recruitment and retention, research, library materials inflation, information technology support and the student advising staff, he said.

The $3.4 million cut to the non-general university fund will hit the Cooperative Extension and the Agriculture Experiment Station the worst, Geoffroy said. The Cooperative Extension Service is losing $571,000 in state appropriations for the next academic year, while the Agriculture Experiment Station has to deal with a $897,000 cut.

Both units are currently planning how they will deal with the budget reduction, while still having to independently support the 2 percent salary increase for their faculty and staff, Geoffroy said.

The Cooperative Extension Service has put a freeze on filling job positions and have left vacant positions open to help reserve funds, Geoffroy said.

The Agriculture Experiment Station is experiencing the closing of two research farms and the dairy farm.

A few layoffs are likely in the Agricultural Experiment Station, Geoffroy said, but probably not beyond those parts of the university.

The rest of the university is belt-tightening to deal with the budget reductions, he said. Geoffroy noted in an effort to decrease administration costs and increase efficiency, five departments in the Biological Sciences Program are being reduced to two.

“We have tried as hard as we can to keep the impact of the budget reduction as much as possible off the backs of the students,” Geoffroy said.