Students and faculty are preparing to move this summer into the nearly completed Academic Technology Building at UA's Sierra Vista campus - but the university may not have the money to pay back contractors for its construction.

The state Legislature, which approved a construction plan for the building in 1999 but opted to fund it one year at a time, may not agree to fund the remaining $1.5 million owed for the completion of the building, University of Arizona Budget Director Dick Roberts said.

That would leave the university - which is already suffering from what may amount to more than $60 million in budget cuts over two years - scrambling to find that money, plus an additional $350,000 for operational expenses that had been originally promised by the Legislature.

The operating funds are needed to pay for maintenance, janitors and other building upkeep costs.

Roberts stressed that even if the Legislature refuses to allocate the $1.5 million - which is due to contractors July 1 - UA would find a way to pay the money.

"We encourage the Legislature to live up to their responsibilities," Roberts said. "But we will honor the contract no matter what."

UA may need to pay for the building because in December the Legislature rescinded the entire 2003 budget, which is projected to have a deficit of about $1 billion. Although not much discussion has taken place yet on how to overcome that shortfall, Roberts said the Legislature has not made payment on that building a priority.

"The payment the Legislature said they would pay for fiscal year 2003 is still up in the air because the Legislature rescinded the 2003 budget," Roberts said. "Up to that point, there was a commitment to pay."

Even if the Legislature decides not to fund the building, UA South will move into the building over the summer and hopefully open it up to students in the fall, said UA South Dean Randall Groth.

The building will be the first place on the satellite campus with meeting and conference rooms, said Margie Barber, UA South's finance and administration director. It will also contain 10 classrooms, including two with interactive television, 30 faculty offices, a 100-student "learning resource center" and a 150-student multi-purpose room.

The 24,500 square-foot building is the first publicly funded project built at UA South, Barber said. Previously, donor funds paid for the construction of all UA South buildings.

"The project is seen as a payback to the residents of southeastern Arizona," Barber said. "We hope the Legislature sees that."