Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, fresh off his trip to Japan, attended a meeting of the University Board of Regents in Anchorage on Thursday, where he told the regents and Administration to not accept the deal they had signed with the governor for budget cuts over the next two years.
The compact that Board of Regents Chairman John Davies and University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen signed with Dunleavy was for a $25 million cut to the university system’s budget this year, $25 million next year, and $20 million the following year.
Berkowitz was quoted by KTUU as saying the regents should push back agains the governor and Legislature on future cuts.
“Just because there are poorly considered decisions made in Juneau, there is no reason for us to accept that passively.”
The multi-year compact that preserved $110 million in state funding for the university for Fiscal Year 2020. The agreement also means that budgets submitted to the governor by the Board of Regents over the next two fiscal years will reflect $45 million in additional reductions.
