Capping a week filled mostly with ceremony and administrative activity in the General Assembly, Governor Sonny Perdue delivered the most pressing items of business  for this session  just as legislators prepared to leave their offices for the weekend.  After several days of anxious anticipation, the governor released his FY2011 and Amended FY2010 budget recommendations early on Friday afternoon.

Perdue’s recommendations for FY2011, the subject of much speculation over the past several months, reflected a nearly 5% decrease in total state allocations from the current FY2010 budget.  Most state departments and agencies face significant funding cuts in FY2011, including the University System of Georgia (USG).

Despite a recommended 9.9% decrease in funding for the USG in FY2011, USG and Georgia Tech priorities were largely well represented in the budget recommendation (see figure above).  
The governor recommended that bond funding be provided for both capital projects requested by Georgia Tech.  These requests included $7 million for the equipping of the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons and $4.5 million for the Eco-Commons stormwater management project.

“These two projects are integral to the continued improvement and expansion of our campus,” noted Dene Sheheane, Executive Director of Government and Community Relations.  “This funding will be a wise investment for the state.”

Governor Perdue also recommended that a large majority of the USG’s request for additional operating and repair and rehabilitation funding be approved.  The FY2011 recommendations call for allocation of $113 million of the $139.8 million request for new Formula Funds for day-to-day operations and $60 million of the $75 million request for Major Repair and Rehabilitation funds for maintenance of USG facilities.  Both of these totals would be divided among USG institutions.

Though Tech's formal budget priorities found significant support in the recommendations, the Institute did not escape unscathed.

The Enterprise Innovation Institute/Advanced Technology Development Center (EII/ATDC), which receives its own line-item in the USG budget request, was subject to recommendations for significant decrease in funding.  The governor recommended that funding be eliminated for EII/ATDC’s seed capital fund and reduced for overall personal services and operating expenses.  This $3.3 million decrease reflects a 28% decrease in state funds for EII/ATDC between FY2010 and FY2011.

The Georgia Tech Research Institute could also see a funding cut.  Governor Perdue’s recommendation calls for a cut of $627,939 in personal services and operating expenses from GTRI’s state allocation.  This reflects a 9% cut in state funds received by GTRI between FY2010 and FY2011.

Both EII/ATDC and GTRI receive significant revenue from sources other than the state.  However, state funds are integral to the administration of each organization.

Education is the largest single cause  for which state general funds are allocated in Georgia.  As recommended for FY2011, the USG makes up 10.7% of the state budget.  K-12 education makes up 38.3 % of the proposed budget.

The Amended FY2010 budget recommendations, also released Friday, called for an overall 8.19% cut in funds for Georgia Tech.  Most of this cut has already been absorbed by administrative reductions and employee furloughs.