Universities Hope For Funds As General Assembly Meets

University of Louisville President James Ramsey is preparing to lobby the Kentucky General Assembly for education funds.The legislature will have to resolve a 100 million dollar budget shortfall for the current fiscal year, and cope with a predicted 1.5 billion dollar shortfall in the next two years.But Ramsey says U of L needs funds. He says he'll work with other university presidents to lobby the General Assembly, even though funds may not come in the next fiscal year."Maybe there's a chance in the second year of the biennium there'll be a little more revenue growth," he says. "I think the General Assembly will do the very best they can to protect all of education, K-12 and higher ed, but it is going to be a very difficult budget."Ramsey says the university specifically needs money for maintenance, academic programs and new classroom space.