The state budget proposed by new Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin calls for $650 million in cuts over the next two years. Public universities would see state funding cuts of 4.5 percent in each of the next two years.
Raymond Burse, president of historically Black Kentucky State University, says that the proposed cuts would be so devastating to the university that it may have “to declare financial exigency and/or prepare a closure plan.”
In a statement, President Burse said that “we do not have the resources available to meet the many current needs as we move forward to address correcting years of improper processes, procedures, and in some instances, yes, negligence as to duties and responsibilities. Kentucky State cannot withstand what is being proposed in the budget.”