Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 8, 1995 TAG: 9507100059
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Tech and six other Virginia universities and colleges will divvy up $4.08 million under an arrangement agreed to as part of last winter's General Assembly budget bill.
Tech had built the $1.39 million - it represents just 0.5 percent in the university's $239 million educational budget - into its spending plan as a contingency, said Larry Hincker, director of university relations.
The university has not designated the money for any specific program, though there should be plenty of candidates. For months, university number-crunchers have been searching for ways to close a $12.2 million shortfall in the annual budget that went into effect July 1.
Tech had been breathing somewhat easier since it learned last month that its preliminary fall enrollment figures are better than forecast, following a successful push to attract more out-of-state students.
``The university is still in the process of figuring out how the final several million dollars of our budget shortfall will be resolved,'' Hincker said. Those final budget maneuvers, which could incorporate the new revenue, will go to the Tech Board of Visitors next month.
``It's just going to have to go into the mix,'' he said. ``But it's definitely good news.''
The other recipients of the $4.08 million, and their shares, are: University of Virginia, $1.8 million; College of William and Mary, $261,187; Mary Washington College, $152,869; Norfolk State University, $216,906; Virginia Military Institute, $151,766; and Richard Bland College, $87,652.
``These funds will enable higher education to improve instruction and carry out their restructuring plans,'' Allen said.
The money is coming from a $44 million surplus in the state's general fund revenue over original forecasts, according to the governor's office. Combined with $9.9 million in an unclaimed state lottery prize, that leaves the state with $53.9 million in excess revenue for the fiscal year that ended June 30. The bulk of that money will be rolled over into the state's ``rainy day'' reserve fund.
by CNB