WKU will see a 1% decrease in state-appropriated money for the remaining two months of the fiscal year, according to an email to faculty and staff from President Timothy Caboni. 

The coronavirus pandemic will “significantly” affect next year’s budget, Caboni said. Budget recommendations for 2021 will be presented to the president’s cabinet Friday.

Though the Executive Budget Committee will continue to work on these proposed changes, Caboni said the plans will be shared with the campus Friday as well.

The changes will be brought to the Board of Regents for review on May 15, and the regents will vote on them during a special-called meeting in June.  

Caboni, who has made efforts to increase retention a priority of his presidency, asked faculty and staff to “encourage completion and work to re-recruit each student to return to campus this fall.” He said this push was more “crucial” now than ever. 

The president also mentioned four Restart WKU Committees working to resume in-person operations for faculty and staff during the summer, as well as developing plans for fall.

“We remain committed to regaining as much normalcy as possible and providing the full WKU Experience to our students, while protecting the health of our community,” Caboni said in the email.

The draft of these plans will be submitted to the COVID-19 Task Force on May 18 and then form a comprehensive restart plan, Caboni said. 

Managing Editor Laurel Deppen can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @laurel_deppen.