Under pressure to come up with nearly $8 million in budget cuts for the current budget year, key players who have been lobbying in Springfield on NIU’s behalf met last Tuesday to discuss relating to the budget crisis.

Members of NIU’s Board of Trustees Legislation, Audit and External Affairs committee met at NIU’s Hoffman Estates campus to briefly mention the current budget situation, as well as address new state legislation that could affect NIU.

Kathy Buettner, executive director of state and federal relations, said NIU is taking the budget issue day by day.

“As you know, the governor has not issued a budget message at this point,” Buettner said. “We are not going to be able to know what the governor recommends until April 9.”

Buettner also shared with the board the fiscal ’04 priority list for capital improvements at different state institutions.

“If we follow logic from previous years, the estimated cutoff for prioritizing will be somewhere between projects 11 and 12,” Buettner said.

NIU requested state funding for the renovation and addition of the Stevens Building. This year, planning funds for the project ranked 15 on the IBHE’s capital improvements list, a progression from last year’s ranking of 21. Funds for construction are ranked 25, an improvement from last year’s ranking of 32.

“Obviously ranked 15, it appears doubtful that there will be any funding for any capital project at NIU in ’04,” Buettner said. “We are working very, very hard in an attempt to draw the needs of the university to the forefront.”

The BOT will meet Wednesday.