Faced with a state edict to cut back on spending, NIU administrators are grappling with how to manage a nearly $8.6 million shortfall this year.

Earlier this month, the state sent NIU notice to slash 8 percent from this year’s operating budget and save it in a reserve for later expenses. The governor’s budget office asked each Illinois public university to cut 8 percent out of its operating budget.

Now, NIU may face the task of working the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends June 30, without the $8.6 million. NIU started the year with a $110 million operating budget before the planned cut.

Even though there’s a chance NIU could see some of that money come back, school administrators aren’t planning on it, said Melanie Magara, NIU’s assistant vice president of public affairs.

NIU President John Peters testified before the House Appropriations Committee last week to ensure NIU’s budget is not “unduly affected by the effort to solve our state’s financial problems,” he stated in a press release.

However, the state is facing a $5 billion deficit this year. All state agencies and universities are struggling to find ways to cut costs, Magara said.

“We have to be prepared as a campus to understand the enormity of the financial problem and the fact that our government leaders have every expectation that higher education will have to contribute to the solution,” Magara said.

Illinois’ public universities are considering a number of ways to meet the Bureau of the Budget’s request, including a continuation of hiring freezes, reduction in workers and positions and a possible curtailment of summer school, Magara said. Universities may have to slow down on expenditures for projects and technology upgrades. Student employment also may face cutbacks.

“We’re talking about a real challenge in terms of finding ways to make those cuts not apparent to students and not borne out in terms of the quality of academic programs,” Magara said. “That’s the challenge.”

NIU, along with other universities, was able to offer 2 percent of its operating budget without devastating its academic programs, but the Bureau of the Budget wants to see scenarios for 8 percent cuts, Magara said.

The presidents of Illinois’ nine public universities will meet with the Illinois Board of Higher Education today at the State of Illinois Building in Chicago to discuss how the 8 percent cuts will affect them.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s State of the State address on Wednesday left unanswered questions about what he specifically plans on doing about the $5 billion deficit, according to The Associated Press.

Rep. David Wirsing, R-Sycamore, said legislators are having difficulty figuring out what direction Illinois is going. While the Bureau of the Budget has requested across-the-board cuts, Blagojevich has offered little detail and has been “governing by memo, or governing by press release,” Wirsing said.

“It’s been a series of ongoing confusion and lack of detailed information,” Wirsing said. “This is not a partisan confusion.”

The 8 percent cut from NIU’s operating budget will pose a great challenge, Wirsing said. In the last 18 months, higher education in Illinois has taken a 16 percent budget cut. The state also will cut 8 percent from NIU’s fiscal year 2004 budget.

“Everyone’s going to get cut,” Wirsing said. “There’s no way around that.”

Blagojevich is scheduled to deliver his budget address April 9 — two months after it traditionally is presented.