‘Maybe it’s more, maybe it’s less’: House speaker calls for 10% cut for Utah colleges

House Speaker Mike Schultz wants Utah’s universities to tighten their belts, telling the presidents of the state’s 16 higher education institutions to come up with 10% budget cuts ahead of the upcoming legislative session.

“We’ve been talking about, what does 10% look like?” Schultz said in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune. “And, you know, each one is going to be different. That 10% reduction at the University of Utah is going to look much different than 10% at Southern Utah University. … We’ll see what we’ll see. It doesn’t necessarily mean 10% [in cuts]; maybe it’s more, maybe it’s less.”

It’s not clear exactly what the impact will be on the state’s eight traditional colleges and universities and eight technical colleges. The Legislature appropriated about $1.8 billion last year to fund higher education, but some expenses — like building maintenance — may not be on the chopping block.

Schultz, R-Hooper, said he is concerned about increasing administrative costs and is focused on making sure the schools are operating efficiently in the face of the skyrocketing price of a college degree.

He also said money squeezed from the budgets could be reallocated to programs that are producing results and bolster the state’s economic growth.

Since 2015, the administrative costs at Salt Lake Community College have gone from $2,998 per student to $7,280 per student, the speaker said, and the University of Utah now spends $8,841 per student, more than double the $4,176 per student spent nine years ago.

“We work really hard as a state to hold our state agencies accountable and to make them run efficiently, but nobody’s ever looked at higher ed,” Schultz said. “I think becoming more efficient is one of the main goals in this, which then will provide better opportunities for our … students.”

Enrollment drops expected

Schultz said making sure colleges are prepared for an impending dip in enrollment is also part of his motivation.

According to a report from the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute earlier this month, college enrollment nationally is expected to start to decline beginning next year. Because Utah’s population is younger, enrollment growth is expected to slow beginning in 2027 and start to contract in 2032. And fewer students means less money collected in tuition — in addition to proposed budget cuts.

“I’ll be honest, I can see a problem,” Schultz said. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to [see] there’s this cliff coming, and we’ve got to get ahead of it.

With his plan, the House speaker said he hopes cutting inefficient areas lets presidents reallocate some of the money to “workforce alignment” — making sure the schools are producing graduates who can fill jobs and grow the economy — and expanding research at the University of Utah and Utah State University, the state’s two research universities.

Schultz is a graduate of Roy High School and did not attend college. He previously owned a successful real estate development company. Geoff Landward, the commissioner of the Utah System of Higher Education, said in an interview, “It’s no secret that the Legislature has concern” with university and college spending.

In the legislative session this spring, lawmakers cut 1.5% of higher education funding from the budget. That amounted to about $20 million. That cut will lower the base rate higher education is funded each year moving forward — unless the Legislature restores the percentage or cuts deeper.

The Utah System of Higher Education was given about the same $20 million figure in one-time funding as a stopgap. But the message was a clear heads-up to the commissioner: Learn how to operate off less now.

Landward called the 1.5% amount “pretty drastic.”

They now find themselves looking at cuts or reallocations that could be many times larger.

Rep. Karen Peterson, R-Clinton, the co-chair of the Legislature’s higher ed budget committee, said the reallocations — rather than cuts — will not be across-the-board, since it wouldn’t make sense to cut areas like facility maintenance. That makes it hard to know how much of the budget is in play.

“We want to reallocate so we really are keying in on those programs that have high impact, that are relevant degrees and relevant for our students [as] we think about how we ensure the funding is going there, not so much the amount,” she said.

There is also a push by Schultz and others to streamline the number of hours needed for some degrees, with a goal of getting students through college in three years, if possible, making it less costly and meaning students would incur less debt.

But Democratic Sen. Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, a public school teacher who is on the higher ed budget committee, said squeezing budgets could be detrimental if it means students have fewer educational options.

“Utah’s higher ed system is globally recognized,” the senator said. “To be on the world stage and attract talents and students, we need to remain competitive.”

Schools don’t want to limit funding for athletics programs because it puts them at a competitive disadvantage, she said. “If money is good for sports, shouldn’t money be good for academics?”

‘They’re watching’

Previously, Schultz has expressed concerns about liberal politics on college campuses — and last year the Republican-led Legislature passed a law dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs at colleges and universities statewide.

University of Utah faculty drew scrutiny from legislators after there were pro-Palestine protests at the school.

But Schultz said this focus on reforming higher ed doesn’t stem from those issues. “This is completely separate,” he said.

Starting in July, the state’s eight traditional colleges and universities took the full 1.5% cut, while the eight technical colleges — which have less funding overall — saw a 0.5% reduction each. For the University of Utah, the cut was the deepest at $7.2 million; Utah State University followed at $4.8 million.

Utah State University President Elizabeth Cantwell mentioned that cut during a community forum on Monday. She said she instructed each department on campus to look at what they would do, moving forward, under 1%, 3% or 5% cuts.

It’s something, she said, university leaders “need to be prepared for.” She doesn’t expect any cut would be uniformly applied to all departments, like what Peterson said, but she wants to be able to make “fully informed choices” on what areas need funding and which could be trimmed.

University of Utah spokesperson Rebecca Walsh said that U. President Taylor Randall has had “productive conversations” with Schultz “around common goals, including a shared commitment to student success, workforce development and improving efficiency across the system of higher education.”

Last year, the Legislature appropriated $434 million in taxpayer money to the university.

Landward said he’s been told by legislative leaders that they want to see “budgetary discipline” from higher education moving forward. And the initial budget he has drafted is “very conservative,” he said.

“We have suspicions [funding] won’t be as generous” moving forward, he said. When he presented the draft to Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson last month, Landward said cuts were not discussed. But that doesn’t mean it’s off the table.

“Those conversations are continuing,” Landward said. “To be perfectly candid, I’m always having conversations with the Legislature about what we need to do to address the affordability of higher education.”

When the Legislature disbanded college diversity programs, it did not cut funding but reallocated it to efforts that support all students. But, Landward said, it was bloat to those programs and concerns with administrative costs that have prompted lawmakers to take a close look at higher education.

During a March board meeting after the end of the session, Landward said of lawmakers: “They’re watching.”

Correction • Oct. 15, 9:45 a.m.: The story has been updated to reflect that Schultz no longer owns his real estate development company.

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