University of New Mexico looking to tighten its budget

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Acting University President Chaouki Abdallah says it's time to tighten the University of New Mexico's purse strings. The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2nPvoER ) that Abdallah spoke at a campus town hall meeting last week and told the audience that less state funding and enrollment declines have caused the university to exercise money-saving measures at a campus town hall meeting this week. With the university expecting state funding to drop again this year, Abdallah is looking into everything from employee furloughs to consolidating UNM's class schedule into four days. The university has already implemented a hiring freeze. New Mexico state government is facing its own budget crunch. Lawmakers said earlier this month that without new revenue streams, additional funding cuts to public school and state agencies are inevitable.