UConn deficit could be as high as $109 million amid pandemic

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Budget cuts, furloughs and more state aid will be needed to address coronavirus-related losses in revenue at the University of Connecticut, the school's chief financial officer said Wednesday.

The school estimates it will end the fiscal year next June with a deficit of $76 million, finance chief Scott Jordan told the board of trustees. That could jump to about $109 million should the school be forced to close early by a resurgence of the virus, he said.

The school will ask the state Legislature for an additional $28 million to help close the budget gap, Jordan said. The university hopes to make up the rest through mitigation efforts including a hiring freeze, program cuts and forcing nonunion managers to take furlough days.

“Every department at the university has had to scale back their efforts and find savings, either through delays in hiring or elimination of positions, vacant positions or decreased expenditures of other goods and services,” he said.

UConn ended the 2020 fiscal year with a deficit of just $2.4 million, despite closing early because of pandemic, Jordan said. School finances were aided by $21 million in federal coronavirus relief funds, he said.

The school reported a higher-than-expected enrollment this fall, but said that because many students are learning remotely, UConn has seen a significant drop in housing and dining revenue.

Jordan warned the deficit could be affected by a need for additional financial aid for students whose own finances have been hurt by the pandemic.

UConn is also wary of the potential for cuts in state funding and a rise in fringe benefit costs, Jordan said. UConn already faces an annual deficit of more than $30 million a year in unfunded pension costs.

Officials at UConn Health, which includes the...