
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 28, 1990                   TAG: 9006280813
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: NEAL THOMPSON NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TECH, RADFORD PLAN FOR TIGHTER BUDGETS

Virginia Tech and Radford University, already forced to cut about 5 percent from their budgets earlier this year, must devise additional plans to show how they would further reduce their operating costs over the next two years.

Tech officials announced today that a hiring freeze, which had been lifted a few months ago, was back in effect Wednesday in anticipation of more budget cuts.

Tech, which has eliminated 268 jobs by attrition since February, may have to limit enrollment if further personnel cuts are required, Tech spokesman Dave Nutter said today. Tech has about 6,000 employees.

Radford officials have been discussing the possible cuts but were not ready to comment today, said Deborah Brown, director of public information. Radford's budget for the 1990-92 biennium is $126 million, she said.

"We're not announcing anything right now," Brown said. But she said Radford, which added 32 positions for the 1990-91 school year, has no hiring freeze now.

If Tech is forced to cut another 2 percent or more from its 1990-92 budget, "People are going in the street, there's no doubt about it," Nutter said. "There's no leeway in the operating budget, and it will have to come out of personnel."

Late last week, Tech and other state agencies were told by the state Department of Planning and Budgets that they must develop three sets of budget-reduction plans to show how they would cut their budgets by 1, 3 or 5 percent.

Nutter said Tech has been told that state officials may not decide until late August or September which of the three budget-cutting plans they will ask the agencies to impose. But there will be a cut of some kind.

"And there's just no way we can keep hiring people at this time if we're going to have to reduce the budget," he said.

All public colleges and universities in the state are required to submit reduction plans to state budget officials by July 16.

by CNB