Despite concerns of the new state budget cutting funding for universities across the state, fears have been put to rest for members of the Ball State University Board of Trustees.
Relief came after the approval of the new Indiana state budget that was passed Tuesday, which will not cut any higher education funding despite original proposals for about a 4 percent decrease.
Ball State is among many of the public universities that will see little affect at all, Board of Trustees President Thomas DeWeese said.
"The university was treated very well," DeWeese said. "There's no increase and there's no decrease in funding so things like scholarships for students will stay the same. I think the legislation, in general, tried to treat higher education well."
The Indiana General Assembly passed a new two-year $27.8 billion budget that was signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels on Tuesday evening - hours before a potential statewide government shutdown.
Indiana lawmakers have been in a special session since June 11 to draft a new state budget after a budget was not passed during its regular session earlier this year. If a budget was not passed by midnight Daniels had previously warned that most of the state government would shutdown until a new budget was passed.
The state budget will use federal stimulus money to keep operation spending for public colleges and universities essentially flat and at its 2009 levels during the next two years. It will also provide more than $600 million in bonding authority for building projects on higher education campuses.
Originally Daniels had proposed about a 4 percent decrease to higher education funding. In addition, earlier in the special session the House Democrats proposed a budget that would increase higher education funding by 2 percent.
Along with higher education funding, the new state budget includes a 5 percent increase in state financial aid.
Despite most Democrats voting against the new budget, the Democrat-controlled House passed the budget by a 62-37 vote. The Republican-controlled Senate also approved the budget by a 34-16 vote.
Both of the legislators representing Muncie - Rep. Denis Tyler and Sen. Sue Errington - voted against the new budget.
Daniels said Wednesday that the budget passed by the General Assembly spends a little more than he would have liked. But he said enough lawmakers made tough choices and compromised on a responsible bill that he quickly signed into law.
"It was a good process of give-and-take," he said. "There are things in there for everybody to feel pleased about and everybody to disagree with."
House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said he shared in their frustration with some parts of new budget, but noted that House Democrats had at least secured more funding for schools and higher education than previously proposed by Republicans.
He said a previous budget proposal by Senate Republicans would have led to an estimated 4,000 teacher layoffs, a number he hoped would now be cut in half. He also said Democrats were able to get $650 million in bonding authority for university building projects that would create jobs quickly.
"So we prevented job losses and we helped create more jobs," Bauer said. "There's no question we wanted it to be better, but that battle will have to come later this year."
Daniels said the budget spends about $700 million less than a bill that did not pass both chambers on the final day of the regular session, and about $1 billion less than a bill House Democrats passed earlier in the special session.
"In addition to striking a great bargain that protects taxpayers in this state, almost uniquely in America, we've done a good thing for our kids, their future and our state's future," Daniels said. "And we still have a billion dollars in reserve when there are tax increases happening all over the country."
He predicted that drafting the next biennial budget in 2011 would be another challenge.
"We'll be dealing with fewer dollars in two years than we did two years ago," he said.
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