The magnitude of the cuts…

As JFAC prepares for momentous decisions this morning - how to balance the current year’s budget with $69 million less than the state thought it had as of the governor’s State of the State address in January - the scale of the cuts is starting to become clear. The plan put together by JFAC members would slash $188.75 million in state general funds out of the budget - a 7.1 percent permanent reduction on all agencies including public schools - and then backfill some of that plus cover some supplemental appropriations with $140.6 million in one-time shifts of dedicated, federal and general funds. That includes $86.6 million in reserve and stimulus funds for public schools to fully offset the mid-year cut. However, schools then would be missing that amount - and likely more - the following year from their general fund budget.

To make it all work, the plan shifts $20 million from the economic recovery reserve fund and $33.5 million from the budget stabilization fund into the general fund. That would leave the state with $97.9 million in three reserve funds - budget stabilization, public education stabilization and economic recovery reserve fund - at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, instead of the $131.4 million anticipated in the governor’s recommendation. The end result is a total general-fund budget for this year of $2.28 billion, down from $2.5 billion. For colleges and universities, for example, that would mean a total general-fund cut this year of more than $28 million, from the original budget set for this year; that includes $10 million for a livestock center that’s being put on hold. For corrections, it’s a $10.5 million cut, but $8.3 million gets restored.