Legislators have questions about higher ed budget - Nick Smith, Bismark Tribune

A North Dakota University System budget request will require heavy scrutiny and higher education officials will have questions to answer, lawmakers say. The state Board of Higher Education forwarded its 2015-17 biennium budget proposal to the governor’s office on June 27. It contains a base budget of $774 million, a 14 percent increase over the current biennium. The increase is approximately $94 million, of which about $49 million is to cover the cost of changes made last session in the higher education funding formula. Included in the request is an across-the-board tuition freeze for all 11 of the state’s colleges and universities. But it is contingent on the state funding all the base budget costs as well as the cost of pay and benefit increases for employees. http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/legislators-have-questions-about-higher-ed-budget/article_a6738182-02e5-11e4-81ed-001a4bcf887a.html