The clock is ticking.

“As every day goes by that’s one less day we have to contemplate,” interim President Lou Hencken said of Fiscal Year 03 budget cuts.

The university submitted suggested cuts for Fiscal Year 03 and 04 last Thursday to the Bureau of the Budget.

Eastern is expecting feedback from the state early next week on how much reserve is necessary, but “that does not mean we’ll get it,” Hencken said.

A response was previously anticipated for this week.

The recommended cuts are a result of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s request of public universities to reserve 8 percent of their 03 budgets to be possibly requested later.

The governor’s request came early this month.

The university’s divided cuts will total about $2.8 million from 15 areas, with 2 percent already in reserve. The reserve amount and cuts combined are $4.1 million.

That number is what Blagojevich is asking for; but overall, the governor’s request would total about $113 million across higher education schools and agencies.

For next year’s budget “the $4.1 million total did not change – we just sliced the pie a little differently,” said Jeff Cooley, vice president for business affairs.

The cuts will be similar to FY 03, with the exception of cuts in a few areas such as technology spending, he said.

For example, with three months left this fiscal year, $175,000 is suggested to be drawn from deferred maintenance. Next year, it could be $500,000.

The last item for 03 reserve is $800,000 of cuts that could tear through the summer school curriculum.

Hencken said it will probably not come to that.

“The other thing that worries me a little bit about this whole deal is we’re going to be making a lot of these decisions when students are gone (over the summer).”

Blagojevich will deliver his budget address in early April. Hencken said he is worried it will look like Eastern is trying to sneak the cuts through the back door because of the state’s delayed timeframe of letting universities know of the exact cuts.

However, last week he and other administrators met with university groups such as the university committee executives, chairs, deans and the Faculty Senate on budget specifics.

“I know that the state of Illinois is in a difficult financial state,” he said. “We’re also at the same time being realistic.”

Hencken said he is confident the Bureau of the Budget would not ask for cuts that would hurt students. All universities are making their case to the state, most saying 2 percent given to reserves would cause the least amount of damage.

“We’re talking to a lot of people in Springfield and they’re certainly nodding their heads.”