The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has cut $1.5 million more from its current year budget, amid an expected deficit of more than $10 million.
The cuts announced to campus employees Thursday include some vacant positions and cuts from utility expenditures and property acquisition funds. Scholarship money reserved for high school students who concurrently enroll in the university has gone unused, accounting for about one-third of the cuts, at $550,000.
It's unclear whether some position eliminations included currently filled jobs.
In an email to campus employees, Chancellor Christina Drale said many of the rollbacks were effective only this year and will be re-evaluated for next year, such as the $200,000 in utility savings.
Including Thursday's cuts, the campus has slashed $3.3 million from its budget so far this year. Originally projecting an $11 million deficit this year, the university planned to cover about $6 million using reserves. An audit last fall prompted some budget revisions in January that showed another $2 million deficit. The audit found discrepancies in the university's budget that made it appear the university had more money than it did. Correcting the numbers revealed the additional shortfall.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.