Gov. Tim Kaine released his spending reduction plan yesterday, proposing up to a 15 percent cut in funding for higher education institutions.\n"Higher Ed has definitely been hit more than once," Kaine said in a press conference yesterday. But "we do believe, based on our discussion with higher ed institutions, that they'll be able to manage."\nKaine noted, however, that he hoped to use federal stimulus funds to reduce the cut to about 8 percent. The governor emphasized that K-12 funding would neither be cut, nor made any less of a priority of the state government.\n"Our top goals were to minimize any cuts to K-12, and we've been able to ... essentially hold K-12 education harmless," he said.\nKaine noted that K-12 education does receive revenues from sales taxes, which are down because of decreased consumer spending.\n"Other than the sales tax decline, we're not cutting anything from K-12, and that was our top goal in wrestling with these reductions," he said.\nKaine listed other untouched budget items, noting that the revised plan does not include tax increases, additional government debt, money out of transportation funds or local spending reductions.\n"The commonwealth is continuing to manage the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression both responsibly and transparently," Kaine said. "There's no question we remain in the midst of the toughest economy in a generation. But we also remain confident that Virginia will weather the storm and emerge stronger than ever before."\n-compiled by Bethel Habte
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