By Connor Boyd

BLOOMINGTON – Nearly a month has gone by and the state has yet to decide on a budget.

Illinois State University is one of the many institutions still anxiously awaiting funding.

“I regularly talk with legislators from our area here so the communication is very strong,” said ISU President Larry Dietz.  “I’m sure there is a lot of discussion going on, but in terms of actual progress toward this it’s hard to gauge that.”

Dietz said the school has a plan in place for nearly every possible outcome the state could provide.

“Depending upon the percentage of the cut we’ll implement various plans,” said Dietz. “But our most important resource are our people here, the faculty and the staff that teach and serve the students. So we want to preserve that as our highest priority.”

Dietz added the first cuts that would be made depending on the new budget would likely be furthering the delay of building renovations. University staff are being paid with complimentary revenue sources and that this is a common situation for the school to be in.

“Whatever that amount is we’ll be happy to receive that,” said Dietz. “Our planning processes are in good shape and we’ll soldier on down the road onto things, so we’re very positive about the future. We have plans in place to accommodate whatever is decided at the state level.”

The ISU Board of Trustees recently approved a small tuition increase for the coming school year.

Connor Boyd can be reached at [email protected].