University System warns deep House cuts would force program, staffing changes

Catherine Provencher, chancellor of the University System of New Hampshire, told the Senate Finance Committee that the House budget’s reduction of roughly $57.6 million over the biennium would be “unsustainable” for the system and would force “massive restructuring” if enacted.

Provencher and Mike Pilati, chair of the Board of Trustees, told senators the university system already faces a structural budget gap driven by a long-term enrollment decline and changing market conditions. The university system’s current operating picture, they said, depends on state support that offsets in‑state tuition; the governor’s budget proposed a modest reduction the system could manage but the House’s adopted budget would cut state investment by about 30% from the current biennium, they said.

The university system receives roughly $95 million in state support this year, Provencher said;…