Gov. Wes Moore’s state budget proposes cutting $111 million from the University System of Maryland, according to state budget officials.

The system of 12 institutions and three regional centers would get $2.21 billion in state funding next budget year, if Moore’s proposal is adopted. That’s down from $2.32 billion this year.

The cuts come as Maryland faces a $3 billion deficit. Moore’s plan to close the gap includes increasing taxes on the state’s highest earners, delaying parts of the state’s education reform plan and limiting the number of families that can enroll in child care scholarships. His administration is scaling back some higher education spending, too.

“It is not sustainable for the general fund to continue to support these levels of growth going forward, and we are proposing just a slight bending of the cost curve next year that we believe is fair and reasonable for the institutions to manage,” said Helene Grady, Maryland’s budget secretary.

In a speech before the budget was officially unveiled, Moore had stark words about the role of college in Maryland.

“We have some of the best four-year institutions in America here in the state of Maryland, something we are very proud of,” the first-term governor said. “But we are going to end the myth that every single one of our students must attend one of them in order to be economically successful.”

Moore added that was “not true, so we will not fund it like it’s true.”

He emphasized the need for “strategic investments” in apprenticeship programs and job training.

Moore’s budget predicts in-state tuition would rise by 2.2% at University System of Maryland institutions, which would help with the $111 million cut. At the University of Maryland, College Park, that would bump annual tuition and fees from $11,505 to $11,758, not including housing and dining fees. It’s up to the USM Board of Regents to set tuition rates, though.

System officials did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

Jeongeun Kim, an associate professor of higher education at UMD, said the flagship campus should be fine to take a small hit, despite concerns about cuts to employee raises. It’s the smaller regional universities in the system, like deficit-ridden Frostburg State University, that could see more of an impact.

“College Park, being a research institution, has a deeper source of revenue,” she said. “The small state schools, the local schools, they primarily rely on state appropriation, and for them it’s very difficult to increase tuition. They don’t want to compromise their access, but receiving a big research grant is usually not their strength.”

It’s not unusual for a state government to cut higher education funding during an economic downturn, Kim said.

“There is a lack of sustainability in funding,” she explained. “Higher education institutions are actually very fragile.”

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