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Kentucky Universities Seek More Funding in Tight Budget Year

Sergey Kuzmin, 123rf stock photo

Kentucky's public colleges and universities want more money, but Republican lawmakers say the best universities can hope for is to break even.

The Council on Postsecondary Education approved its two-year budget request Friday, asking for an extra $160 million in state funding for Kentucky's eight public universities and its network of community and technical colleges.

About 35% of that is operating money. But Gov. Matt Bevin has warned state agencies to prepare for spending cuts.

State Budget Director John Chilton told lawmakers Thursday they would need to find up to an additional $1 billion out of a nearly $12 billion budget to keep the state's woefully underfunded pension system afloat.

Senate budget chairman Chris McDaniel said the best case scenario would be keeping college spending flat.

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