Before Gov. Tom Corbett presented his 2011-12 state budget proposal Tuesday, many school leaders expected funding for higher education to be cut. Now they are trying to assess the impact Corbett’s cuts will have on their operations.

State funding of the 14 Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education schools and the four state-related schools will be cut by about 50 percent.

That includes cuts to Slippery Rock University.

The state’s community colleges, which include Butler County Community College, are projected to lose 10 percent of their state funding.

Kenn Marshall, a state system spokesman, said he was not surprised by the cuts.

“We knew it was going to be a challenging year,” Marshall said. “The fact that this is a proposed cut isn’t that surprising.”

The state system’s total budget is $1.4 billion. This year, $465 million came from the state, but that figure will drop to $232 million next year.

Marshall said the state system is not sure how it will handle the decrease.

He said the state system budget will not be finalized until June and student tuition will not be considered until July.

The state system has kept tuition increases under the inflation rate for the past six years, he said, and he said it will try to keep it that way.

SRU President Robert Smith said he is not sure how the university will handle the budget.

“Right now, we’re trying not to panic,” he said.

SRU’s budget for 2010-2011 is $103 million, $39 million of which came from the state.

Of that $39 million, $3.1 million was federal stimulus funding that is not coming back. The remaining $36 million will be cut to about $18 million.

Smith needs to complete a budget by July 1, which is the date the state budget is supposed to go into effect.

Smith said he does not know at this point what changes or cuts he will make. He said he will try to create a budget that does not affect the quality of education at SRU.

“We’ve got a great university that we want to sustain,” Smith said. “And we certainly want all of our students to remain in the primary focus of what we’re about. We’re just going to have to do it differently.”

The state’s 14 community colleges suffered a 10 percent cut in their base operating funding in the proposed budget. The operating allocation is slated to dip from $236 million this year to about $212 million in 2011-12.

At BC3, the cut translates into an $843,707 loss in the operating budget, Nick Neupauer, BC3 president, said.

BC3’s current budget is about $26 million. The college’s budget for the 2011-12 year will be presented to the board of trustees in May.

“We’re evaluating the impact of the budget,” Neupauer said of the state cuts.

“Originally, we assumed we would get the stimulus back,” he said, referring to federal funds the community colleges hoped the state would replace.

In addition to the base operating funds, other funds the college depends on also have either been reduced or eliminated, Neupauer said.

That includes funding for customized job training, adult and family literacy, community education councils, new choices/new options program and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency.

Another issue at SRU and the other 13 state system universities is that all seven union employee contracts expire June 30.

Kevin Kodish, a spokesman for the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, the union representing faculty, said contract talks are in the early stages, and he expects the state budget proposal will change several of the topics in the discussions.

Marshall agreed.

“Whenever finances are tight, that makes it more difficult,” Marshall said of contract negotiations.

Smith said the proposed cuts will have a major effect because 82 percent of the university’s budget is personnel.

“There’s no way you can handle this issue and not impact, in some way, personnel,” Smith said.

He said the budget may impact salaries and benefits.

However, Kodish also is concerned about the size of the budget cuts.

“We understand the direct correlation between state appropriation dollars, our jobs, and access to a college education in the commonwealth and are concerned that the governor’s budget proposal will reduce a lot of young people’s opportunity to grow,” Kodish said.

APSCUF President Steve Hicks agreed, saying in a news release that the union has always fought to keep tuition affordable.

“We must all work together to prevent that dream from becoming a nightmare. I encourage everyone to visit, call, or write the members of the General Assembly,” Hicks said. “The time is short ... we must all stand together to fight off these cruel cuts.”

Eagle staff writer Sandy Pontius contributed to this report.