State proposes less funds for Pitt

In a bill just passed by the Pa. senate appropriations committee, Pitt will receive $167,869,000 for the coming fiscal year, an amount smaller than those passed in recent years. According to the University's 2007 fact book, Pitt draws about 11.9 percent of its funding from the state.

In 2006 Pitt received an appropriation of about $175,038,000 and in 2005 Pitt was allocated $168,768,000 by the Commonwealth. The current amount awarded Pitt is also several million less than Pitt forecasted in a financial statement it released in 2007, when it predicted the State's allocation to be $182,986,000 for that year.

Senate Bill 930, introduced by Gibson Armstrong, R-Lancaster, and approved unanimously by the committee - pledges the money "for educational and general expenses" and divides some of the money up into amounts to be used for "student life activities" and to "enhance the recruitment and retention of disadvantaged students."

Note: Pitt receives 40.2 percent of its operating budget from grants and contracts, 23.2 percent from tuition and fees and 16.7 percent from sales and services. The rest comes from interest on Pitt's endowment and from donations and gifts.

For a link to Bill 930:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&sessYr=2007&sessInd=0&billBody=S&billTyp=B&billNbr=0930&pn=1113