Friday, May 4, 2012
Extreme cuts coming to Maryland state budget in 2013 - Jordan Russell, Tower Light
Towson University faces $5.2 million in cuts if Gov. Martin O’Malley, the House of Delegates and the Senate can’t come to terms on a budget before the next fiscal year, which starts July 1. According to the 90-Day Report, an outline of the state’s reduction plans, higher education holistically would lose $51.2 million as a part of $436 million in cuts, 3.4 percent less than in 2012. The Doomsday Budget, called so because of the massive cuts, was created at the request of Maryland State Senate President Mike Miller as a way to show senators and delegates the possible consequences of their failure to compromise on a responsible revenue package, according to Emmanuel Welsh, chairman of the University System of Maryland Student Council. On April 24, Towson University President Maravene Loeschke released a statement to students about the General Assembly’s failure to pass a balanced budget to keep higher education affordable. According to Welsh, other universities in the USM have rallied against the budget.
