The Montana Board of Regents unanimously voted Thursday to comply with Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s call for state agencies to cut budgets for the 2010-2011 fiscal year by 5 percent.

During a morning conference call, regents approved a tentative summary of just where nearly $7.6 million in reductions in the higher education budget might come from.

In early January after projected state revenues began to fall, Schweitzer asked agencies to start making plans for cuts.

The Thursday vote means that, while regents recognize that they have sole constitutional authority over the higher education budget once set by the state Legislature, the board would agree to follow Schweitzer’s request, said Regent Lynn Morrison-Hamilton of Havre.

The one-page summary of proposed budget cuts includes:

• $5.2 million from campuses across the state.

• $436,774 from community colleges.

• $130,000 from Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education programs.

• $668,824 from financial aid for students in such programs such as the Washington-Wyoming-Alaska-Montana-Idaho (WWAMI) medical program, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and the Governor’s Post Secondary Scholarships.

• $37,220 from MSU’s Fire Services Training School.

• $288,363 from the Extension Service.

• $96,664 from the Bureau of Mines.

• $615,086 from Agriculture Experiment Stations.

• $57,929 from the Forest Conservation Experiment Station.

• $22,050 from tribal college assistance.

The governor’s budget director, David Ewer, had asked that agencies deliver a budget reduction plan by Friday.

Stephen Barrett, regent board chairman of Bozeman, stressed that the summary approved Thursday was a working template and that cuts might not be made as outlined.

“This isn’t a plan set in concrete,” he said.

The regents’ vote is the first step in a process that will include state legislators in coming weeks, said Mick Robinson, deputy higher education commissioner for fiscal affairs.

Regent Janine Pease of Poplar said that campuses that have had enrollment increases might be put in a bind. Not only would they have to make a 5 percent budget cut, they also face the extra expense of more students.

Although higher enrollments bring in more tuition money, they also create a need for more student services, classes and other programs.

Marco Ferro of the MEA-MFT teachers union said he was concerned about possible cuts to programs that finan-cially help students planning to teach.

Montana State University Billings’ portion of the budget-reduction plan is about $770,000.

After the meeting, MSU Billings chancellor Ron Sexton said that this may not be the end of budget cuts.

If expected state revenue continues to drop, he anticipates another 5 percent budget cut.

Even before the governor called for tighter budgets, campuses were going over their books preparing for federal stimulus money allocated through the 2009 Legislature to go away in the next biennium.

MSU Billings might use money-saving strategies outlined during that process — including not filling some vacan-cies, reducing utility costs and cutting back on travel — to address the latest budget cuts.

Regents also voted 6-1 Thursday to increase the amount of money that campuses could place in a reserve account that would give them more flexibility in managing revenues between fiscal years.

Lila Taylor, a regent from Busby in her last board meeting, voted against the measure.

Contact Mary Pickett at mpickett@billingsgazette.com or 657-1262.