Gov. Phil Bredesen said Thursday he is “very pleased” by University of Tennessee system President John Petersen’s pledge to keep student tuition hikes to 6 percent despite state cuts to higher education in the 2009/2009 budget.
Noting that he had feared there would be “pressure” on UT to enact “substantially higher” increases, Gov. Bredesen said he hopes Tennessee’s other system of higher education, the State Board of Regents, also can keep increases in check.
Lawmakers passed the budget early Thursday.
The spending plan takes into account plummeting state revenues and cuts some $344 million from Gov. Phil Bredesen’s original budget, representing a 1.2 percent reduction from the current budget, Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz said.
Among other things, the budget reduces the state’s work force by 2,011 people, cuts higher education by $56 million and pares planned improvements in K-12 education and other areas.
See tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press for full coverage.
Andy Sher is a Nashville-based staff writer covering Tennessee state government and politics for the Times Free Press. A Washington correspondent from 1999-2005 for the Times Free Press, Andy previously headed up state Capitol coverage for The Chattanooga Times, worked as a state Capitol reporter for The Nashville Banner and was a contributor to The Tennessee Journal, among other publications. Andy worked for 17 years at The Chattanooga Times covering police, health care, county government, ...
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