Arizona Board of Regents makes budget ask as universities make cuts

(The Center Square) – As two of Arizona’s universities are staring down the barrel of major budget cuts, the Board of Regents is requesting $732.2 million for the three public universities in fiscal year 2026.

“We’re committed to ensuring that Arizona’s public universities continue to drive economic growth and innovation,” ABOR Chair Cecilia Mata said in a statement on Thursday.

“Our budget request prioritizes strategic investments in healthcare education, workforce development, and affordability, aligning with the state’s critical needs and the desire of Arizona voters. We look forward to collaborating with Gov. Katie Hobbs and the legislature to prioritize funding that supports the needs of our communities and secures Arizona’s future,” Mata added.

Budget requests for the next fiscal year typically starting well before a budget deal is made, which in the case of fiscal year 2025, the state government budget was not passed until June.

When broken down, the. board wants $130 million for the AZ Healthy Tomorrow effort to boost the state’s healthcare workforce, $129 for the Arizona Promise Program and Arizona Teach Academy and $150 million toward other “workforce development” efforts.

ABOR criticized the decision to have a nearly $97 million budget cut to the universities, which include Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona. The University of Arizona is marred by significant budget cuts after a major shortfall was discovered, which led to Dr. Robert Robbins’ decision to step down as president. Meanwhile, ASU recently announced the closure of its Lake Havasu campus and a $350 tuition surcharge starting next semester, citing a $24 million loss in funding.

“These necessary actions reflect the continuing lack of public investment from state government for higher education in Arizona,’’ ASU President Michael M. Crow said in a statement earlier this week. “ASU simply cannot be asked to fund the expansion of higher education across the state without state investment as a part of the financial structure to do so. These budget cuts put the state of Arizona even further behind in ensuring that Arizona has the talent and workforce necessary to advance its economy.”

The news release from ASU added that tuition has not kept up with inflation in recent years.

While some have argued that the budget cuts led to the impacts at ASU, some Republican lawmakers have criticized it as poor financial planning.

“We are deeply troubled by ASU’s surprise decision to close the Lake Havasu campus, even more frustrating is that ASU’s financial standing clearly doesn’t justify such drastic action. The legislature prioritized higher education with significant investments in ASU over the past few years,” Rep. John Gillette, R-Kingman, tweeted.

“Since FY20, ASU’s budget has grown by 22%, and since 2015, it has increased by 40%. This year alone, we allocated $408 million to ASU, underscoring to higher education across Arizona, even as we made tough decisions to balance the state budget.When times are good, it will receive new funds; when times are tough, it should tighten its belt—just like every other agency that serves the public. We call on ASU to immediately reconsider this closure and urge the Arizona Board of Regents to take a much closer look at this decision as it looks very politically motivated this close to the election,” he added.