Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) has announced that the state will cut spending by $775 million over the next two months, and that $110 million of that reduction will be coming from Ohio’s public colleges and universities.
“As I have said, his is no ordinary time, and so we cannot continue onward as if this were a normal time,” tweeted DeWine on Tuesday.
“Today, I am announcing a $775 million budget reduction in General Revenue Fund spending for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2020,” added the governor. “That means we have to obtain these $775 million in cuts over the next two months.”
The governor went on to explain that the budget cuts being made for two months will include $110 million from public institutions of higher education, $300 million from the K-12 Foundation payment reduction, $55 million from other education budget line items, $210 million from Medicaid, and $100 million from all other agencies.
“These decisions were not easy,” tweeted the governor. “We did not make them lightly, but they are necessary. As many of our businesses are making adjustments in this difficult time, so must our government.”
“As we have all seen, COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the American economy. And Ohio’s economy as well,” said DeWine. “Prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Ohio’s economy was strong and our budget was on track.”
The governor added that at the end of February, state revenues for the fiscal year were ahead of estimates by over $200 million, but that “we now have the figures in through the month of April, and our fiscal year-to-date revenues have taken a dramatic turn.”
“Decisions like this are extremely difficult, but are part of my responsibility, as your governor, to make,” DeWine continued. “While we do not know what the coming months will hold, we do know that COVID-19 is here with us and will be here for quite some time.”
The governor added that this, however, does not exempt Ohio from balancing its budget.
“Nevertheless, it does not exempt us from balancing our budget, which we are legally obligated to do,” said DeWine. “Making difficult budget cut decisions now will help us down the road and will help us while we continue our discussions for the next fiscal year.”
Ohio University has already laid off multiple professors from its race and gender studies department, along with 140 unionized employees. These cuts came in advance of the governor’s announcement.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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