By Marshall Griffin, KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – The Show-me State's revenue shortfall may add up to drastic cuts for the four campuses of the University of Missouri System.
Officials estimate that a 15 percent cut would cost nearly $58 million, while a 25 percent cut would cost nearly $94 million.
Gary Nodler (R, Joplin) chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
"We don't know what the size of the cuts will be if there are cuts...but we do know that we need to be prepared for cuts should they be required, and every department needs to know how they would handle the cuts if they occur," Nodler said.
Missouri law requires that the state budget be balanced every year, so Nodler says they may have no choice but to cut university budgets.
He adds that the numbers will be forwarded to Governor-elect Jay Nixon, who will craft the 2010 state budget.
KWMU contacted Nixon's transition office for this story, but so far there has been no response.
Various budget scenarios were prepared for each University of Missouri campus.
For the University of Missouri-St. Louis, a 15 percent cut would equal $8.5 million, a 20 percent cut, $11.4 million, and a 25 percent cut, $14.2 million.