NIU Provost Kendall Baker has asked college deans to plan for a 5 percent budget decrease and a possible re-allocation of funds for fiscal year 1989 although no decisions have been made.

The deans are to present budget proposals to Baker which will define strengths and weaknesses of the colleges and costs of their activities.

Baker said the proposals, which should be completed by December, are planning documents designed to highlight priorities and resource needs of the colleges. They also will show consequences of further cuts in funding.

“This is a difficult task that has been imposed on us,” said Philip Wells, visual and performing arts associate dean.

Wells said the college would need up to a 104 percent increase to equal last year’s budget. “It will be destructive in the long run if we have to operate t that level (of funding).”

The possibility of re-allocating funds from one college to another might become a reality as resource needs and priorities differ, Baker said.

Bob Wheeler, university resources and advisory committee member, said, “A number of faculty members feels the college of engineering is hard-pressed but no decision has been made (about re-allocating money to the college).

Baker said he derived a paper on “Working Priorities,” in response to the university budget, which he wanted to stimulate discussion across the campus about funding priorities. “I have reviewed the budget and informed myself (of what the priorities are).”

Wheeler said he thinks the paper is helpful “in that it is intended to generate discussion.” He said its purpose is to give the campus a sense of what the provost thinks the priorities are.

Baker will present his working paper to the faculty at a forum Nov. 10.