Proposed Budget From the State Senate

On Wednesday, the Kentucky Senate approved its version of the state budget for 2016-18. In 2016-17, the Senate proposes a cut of $25 million (9 percent) to our state appropriation, lowering our base appropriation to $254 million. That amount would carry into the second year of the two-year budget cycle. At that point, under the Senate proposal, 25 percent of our appropriation would be placed into a performance funding pool for allocation.

This proposal is the latest, but not the last, step in the budget development process. Over the next several days, a conference committee — composed of House and Senate members — will meet to work out differences in the budget proposal. If passed by both chambers, the budget will then be sent to the Governor.

I am grateful to the members of both parties in both chambers for their efforts to craft a budget in the face of challenging constraints; and their willingness to listen to our story throughout this process. Our story continues to be that if we hope to position our Commonwealth to be a national leader in workforce development and economic prosperity, we cannot sacrifice critical investments in the engine that drives the state’s important transformation – our colleges and universities.

We will continue to provide updates as we have new information. Thank you for your contribution to who we are and what we do as the University for Kentucky.