PHOENIX ÷ Arizona's universities are not as badly off financially as other state agencies ÷ even though they've taken a bigger budget cut ÷ Republican members of the Senate Committee on Appropriations argued yesterday.

I do not support your use of tuition to balance the state's budget. - President Pete Likins to legislators

Total funding for Arizona's universities has risen in recent years, to about $2.221 billion among the three universities. But the increase is largely due to federal research grants, higher tuition and donations, and does not account for inflation. Furthermore, much of the money from non-state sources can't be used to pay for things such as faculty salaries or electric bills.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Bob Burns (R-Phoenix) said that it looks as though the total fund to the universities is increasing and that they are better off than many of the agencies around the state.

But Arizona's universities are bearing more of the state budget cut, at 8.2 percent more than other publicly funded agencies, which took a 7.5 percent cut this year. And universities are looking at a more disproportionate cut of 12.9 percent next year ÷ as the state looks to cut $1.3 billion ÷ while other agencies are headed for a 6.1 percent cut under the Senate and House appropriations committees chairmen's proposal.

"On a per student basis, our funding's going down," said Sen. Slade Mead (R-Phoenix).

President Pete Likins is asking Burns to fund UA by borrowing, which Burns refuses to do because he opposes borrowing and because the borrowed funds can only be used once before they're gone. This could leave the university in a tighter pinch for following years.

"I think it's time for folks to realize that the money is not there. We simply cannot spend money that does not exist," Burns said.

Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano's proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning in July would not cut the university budget, but relies heavily on borrowing.

Likins' tone toward legislators was slightly softer today, and he avoided the hostility he provoked Tuesday when he called lawmakers' decisions shortsighted as he presented UA's case against budget cuts to the House Committee on Appropriations.

But, like Tuesday, Likins and some Democratic lawmakers made the case that taking state money away from UA and replacing it with increased tuition money is a tax on students.

"I do not support your use of tuition to balance the state's budget," Likins said.

Sen. Minority Whip Pete Rios (D-Hayden) agreed.

"It's kind of alarming to me that (universities) may be innovating and the Legislature is coming along behind them and saying, ÎYou're going to raise an extra two dollars, so we're going to take a dollar-fifty more,'" Rios said. "Seems like one step forward and two steps back."

Burns said the Legislature might have to take money from the universities and expect that it be replaced with increased tuition.

Likins also told the committee that the James E. Rogers College of Law stands to lose a $100 million contribution if legislators follow through on a proposal to cut state funds, forcing administrators to rely on contributions and tuition to fund the college.

In his donation, Rogers specified that the college would lose his contribution if legislators cut funds to the college disproportionately to the rest of the university, forcing the college to rely on his contribution to maintain the status quo.

Normally, budget cuts wouldn't mean lost donations for the College of Law because legislators traditionally cut the university's budget by a total amount and leave it to administrators to distribute the cuts to colleges and departments they select. In recent years, Likins has distributed the cuts among many colleges and departments.

But this budget is different because the Republican chairmen of the Legislature's appropriations committees have proposed that the College of Law specifically be cut by $565,000, a cut of proportionally more than other colleges would take.

Likins said he is concerned about the Legislature's proposal to tell the university where to make cuts and which programs to value or eliminate. It would be breach of protocol if the Legislature were to make that move.