The Governor had allocated all of the remaining $96 million from the ARRA funds to public higher education. The Conference Committee puts $75.3 million of the funds to K-12, to make up for cuts in Chapter 70 spending from the state, leaving just $20.8 million for higher education.
The cuts would go up to 15% if the US Senate fails to approve an extension of the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP). Today, PHENOM joined a coalition of labor and social service organizations in a rally in front of Senator Scott Brown’s office to ask him to vote in support of extending FMAP. As recently as last Thursday, Sen. Brown voted against the extension.
PHENOM will be issuing a statement on Tuesday in support of the Governor’s budget and in opposition to the budget released by the House/Senate Conference Committee.