By Kyeland Jackson —
The board of trustees will meet Thursday. One item on the agenda: the university budget.
University spokesman John Karman confirmed tomorrow’s 1 p.m. meeting, sending out an agenda at 12:54 p.m. Karman confirmed one item on tomorrow’s agenda would be the university’s official budget.
“That is on the agenda right now. I don’t expect it to change,” Karman said.
Trustees were told of the meeting on Monday. The original schedule given to media slated the next board meeting for August 16.
The drafted agenda is subject to change, but Karman said he doesn’t believe faculty pay, or matters surrounding faculty, will be discussed. The official agenda lists approval of the operating budget, including tuition, fees, housing and a meal plan increase.
The new meal plan would increase resident meal plans by three percent and commuter meal plans by $25. This will be the second year U of L has increased meal plan rates.
Official agenda for the meeting
The university is currently running on a spending plan presented before the board was dissolved June 17. The spending plan calls for a five percent tuition raise. The former board disagreed with an earlier version of that plan, leading to a disapproval of the budget.
“I’m very biased. I’m very much against any tuition increase,” former board chair Larry Benz said.
U of L’s American Association of University Professors President Avery Kolers said the timing is odd, and hopes the meeting agenda will note faculty concerns.
“The timing is odd both because of the extremely short lead time and because it’s scheduled for the same day as the hearing on the Attorney General’s request for an injunction,” Kolers said.
“Regarding the agenda, which I have not seen, I just hope it will include confirmation of promotion and tenure cases and faculty & staff salaries. These were among the urgent matters that supposedly justified the Governor’s excessive haste in issuing his legally dubious executive orders,” Kolers said. “If the trustees do not deal with these issues they will belie that justification.”
After the board was dissolved, President James Ramsey presented a spending plan for the university to operate with until the full board was comprised. The plan offsets the tuition increase with a “Credit for Credits” program, rewarding full time students with a refund for the tuition increase.
The Cardinal asked to speak with Ramsey about the meeting and was directed to ask online or via the university spokesperson.
This story will be updated.
