University of Nevada, Reno officials Friday said coming up with money to fund a cost-of-living salary adjustment for employees means budget cuts and fee increases are on the horizon.
The Nevada Legislature failed to fund the COLAs at the 80% level due to a budgeting error and instead funded it at about 61%. Nevada higher education institutions have to cover the shortfall. That amounts to $21 million at UNR.
“Somebody’s going to be unhappy,” UNR president, and former Governor, Brian Sandoval said.”We have to find a way to pay for it. We get the least amount of state support of any campus in the state.”
Ongoing COLA funding will also mean a $31.7 million shortfall in future years.
“We’re funded at 60.5%,” UNR’s Andrew Clinger said. Other institutions have a larger share of state funds in their operating budget, whereas UNR has no budget for COLAs. “It makes it difficult to plan.”
Clinger said UNR is also facing a decrease in student revenues because of lower-than-expected enrollments, exacerbating the problem.
“The enrollment didn’t grow as fast as when it was projected,” Clinger said. “It’s due to not meeting the original forecast.”
Eliminating open employee positions, reducing the amount of the COLAs and increasing student fees were presented as possible ways to fund the shortfall. The Nevada System of Higher Education is considering five scenarios to fund the COLAs, but each campus will have to figure out how to fund the COLAs.
“I will say under every single one of those scenarios, we’re still going to have to make significant cuts,” Clinger said.
Whatever decision is made, each institution will have to come up with COLA funding. Sandoval said “a new approach” is needed to ensure NSHE is adequately funded in the future.
“Right now, we’re constrained with the budget situation and the approach that our state legislature has,” he said. “There’s been a focus on K through 12, as there should be because we need to do better, but I think higher ed’s been forgotten in that conversation.”
