Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland today announced a series of cost-cutting measures to address a projected budget shortfall of $733 million to $1.9 billion. However, higher education budget initiatives, which Strickland has designated a top priority, were largely spared.
Savings will result, in part, from the closing of two mental health facilities -- in Dayton and Cambridge -- and "staff reductions" totaling 1,500 to 2,700 across all state agencies. Actual job losses are expected to total "several hundred," Strickland said, stressing that the number was a guess.
He said staff reductions would be primarily at the administrative level and would be achieved first by leaving vacant positions unfilled and through early retirement incentives to eligible individuals. He said staff reductions would begin immediately.
"...We have asked our agencies ... to find savings, efficiencies and staff reductions where they would have the most minimal effect on the people of Ohio getting services," Strickland said.
The governor listed the freeze in college and university tuition as an initiative that will be "held harmless" in the budget reduction process, along with the Homestead Exemption and Property Tax Rollback and the foundation formula for K-12 schools.
In a news release that followed Strickland's announcement, Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut stated, "Higher education was largely exempted from the budget reductions. In particular, the governor protected the record funding increases that enabled us to freeze tuition at every public college and university for two years..."
That commitment, Fingerhut said, means "Gov. Strickland and the leaders of the Ohio General Assembly have fundamentally changed the state's approach to higher education, placing this important investment in the future at the top of Ohio's priorities."
The Board of Regents will take cuts along with other agencies. Additionally, to meet its target of $90 million in savings, the regents will implement cash management strategies and a revised disbursement schedule for the Choose Ohio First Scholarship program, the Research Scholars program and the James A. Rhodes Scholarship.
For example, the regents will disburse funds for the Choose Ohio First Scholarships "as they are earned by the student, not at the time the college or university earns the right to award the scholarship," Fingerhut stated.
Calling his overall plan a "real sacrifice," Strickland said all state agencies would be called on to participate. If the state and national economies worsen and further strategies are deemed necessary, Strickland said he would consider using money from the state's $1 billion "rainy day" fund to balance the budget.
