Board of Trustees approves budget

By Lauren Duncan

State funding cuts as well as faculty and staff raises are a few priorities in the university’s budget this year.

The SIU Board of Trustees met Tuesday at the SIU-Edwardsville campus for the first full board meeting since July. The board approved more than a dozen items, including fiscal year 2012-2013 budget and salary increases.

SIU President Glenn Poshard said it is normal for the university to approve the budget for its fiscal year after it has already begun in July. He said it was not possible for SIU to submit a full budget until the state budget appropriations came in to the university since the board did not meet in August and the state took more time than usual for appropriations.

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State appropriations were reduced from $217 million to $206 million this year.

Poshard said the funds expected to come from student attendance costs account for $210 million of the overall budget.

“So tuition and fees surpassed what the state gave us,” he said. “This is really a disheartening kind of thing.”

State funding has decreased over the past several years. The state appropriated $248 million to SIU in 2002, which is more than $40 million greater than this year.

Some of SIUC’s largest projected revenue changes include a $1 million dollar tuition revenue increase and a $9.4 million general fund revenue decrease, according to the budget summary on the Board of Trustees website.

Financial commitment changes to this year’s budget include the cost of a 1 percent salary increase for faculty and staff, which totals $3.3 million, and faculty promotions and wages totaling to $1.1 million. Both costs are for FY12 and FY13 raises.

“When people get promoted to different positions, and every year when the personnel get evaluated, this reflects on the changes in position and the salary changes that go along with it,” Poshard said.

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The salary increases went into effect July 1, according to the resolution approved by the board.

Misty Whittington, assistant to the board, said every item on the board’s agenda was approved unanimously.

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