4



       There being no questions, on motion by Mr. Black, seconded by MIr.
Alverson and passed without dissent, thtu 1973-74 Budget Revisions recom-
mended in PR 8 were authorized and approved. (See PR 8 at the end of the
Minutes.


       K. Biennial Budget Request for 1974-76 Approved

       President Singletary opened his presentation of the 1 974-76 Budget
Request with an apology for the fact that it had not been possible to give the Board
members more than ten days in which to examine the document prior to its
adoption. He commended the staff of the Budget Office for the many extra hours
which had gone into its preparation and explained that the "squeeze'I was
caused by the deadlines established by the Council on Public Higher Education.

       The University's Budget Request is based on a format adopted by the
Council on Public Higher Education which provides that certain specific items
shall be considered as continuation costs while all other items requested shall
be considered on a priority basis. The Council format does not specifically
recognize certain continuation costs for the University of Kentucky and these
items are treated as first priorities under the heading "continuation other".
Funds requested under this heading cover obligations to persons retiring in
the coming biennium under the University's unfunded retirement program,
program continuation commitments under a Kellogg Foundation Grant to Allied
Health, costs of continuing current staff benefit programs, and maintenance and
operation costs for new buildings already committed which are to be occupied
during the coming biennium.

       In order to determine those items under program priorities many hours
are spent in meetings and discussion prior to arriving at a decision. Cuts are
made and the end result is that nobody is satisfied with the budget. The
programs which survive the cutting sessions are listed in the budget both in the
Transmittal Letter and in the Biennial Budget Summary.

       Dr. Singletary pointed out that there is nothing in the budget about
tuition because the Council on Public Higher Education sets the tuition rate. He
expressed the hope that the Council will decide not to increase tuition because
it would be unfortunate to price higher education out of the reach of many of
Kentucky students who possess the ability to benefit from such education but who
lack the financial ability to obtain it if the tuition becomes too high. He further
expressed the hope that the members of the Board of Trustees would support
this position.

       Dr. Singletary emphasized that the proposed budget was a minimal one
and represented only modest increases in terms of operations and expenses and
included very little for ncv programs. The actual dollar increase requested
amounts to $7, 519,300 for 1974-75 and $7,230,800 for 1975-76.