Rogers says deal on university budgets close

Chancellor Jim Rogers said Friday he and lawmakers are closing in on a deal to resolve the university system's budgets.

"The answer is we're going to be able to come to a deal," he said following a hearing before the Senate Finance/Assembly Ways and Means joint subcommittee handling higher education budgets.

"I have no indication but I'm hopeful it'll be in the single digit area," Rogers said.

Lawmakers have made it clear they won't allow the 35.9 percent General Fund reduction in Gov. Jim Gibbons' budget.

Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, referred to the proposed cuts as "draconian." 

"This is an incredibly important decision we are making about the future of Nevada," he said.

"The system cannot withstand a 36 percent cut," said Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas. "That amount is going to have to be reduced dramatically or we won't have a system of higher education."

Rogers and his team met with legislative leadership Thursday to hammer out come of the disagreements they have had over the budget. University officials have refused to spell out what and where they would cut saying they could set off a dangerous chain reaction among not only staff but students who would be most impacted. Lawmakers have repeatedly demanded those priorities saying they must know what would happen within the system at various levels of budget cuts.

Read more in Saturday's Appeal.