The board that governs the three state-supported universities talked about the budget prospects for the next year at its meeting in Cedar Falls today. Board of Regents member Michael Gartner of Des Moines, offered a stark assessment of the chances for increased money from the state. Gartner says state receipts are down 23% from last year, "and there's no indication, despite what some of the Democrats are saying...that it is turning around." Gartner says the financial situation won't be changing anytime soon. "I think it's going to be an extraordinarily difficult year, and we're not going to be able to look at the legislature for much of an increase if anything, and we're going to be lucky if we hold steady," Gartner said.
