By Charles Wolfe
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - Gov. Ernie Fletcher said Friday the state's universities were given "complete flexibility" in deciding how to scrape up $45 million for the state budget.

He said he was disappointed when presidents of the institutions talked of having to give up "restricted funds," which include private gifts, tuition payments and athletic receipts.

Presidents of the eight universities met Friday for the unhappy task of deciding how they should collectively come up with $45 million. Michael McCall, president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, also was in the meeting.

The administration is exacting the money to help amass $100 million to carry into the next budget cycle, which begins July 1.

"We never, never said take money from restricted funds," Fletcher told reporters. "We gave them complete flexibility where to take the money from."

The mention of restricted funds was "rhetoric used to try to make their case, and, frankly, I was a little disappointed by that," Fletcher said.

The presidents, through the Council on Postsecondary Education, were to give Fletcher's budget director, Brad Cowgill, a recommendation about where to get the money.

Gary Ransdell, president of Western Kentucky University, predicted that the recommendation would be to take the money from general funds rather than restricted funds.

For the University of Kentucky, restricted funds included revenue from the university's hospital. University of Louisville President James Ramsey and Murray State University President King Alexander said there was some sentiment in the group to exempt UK's hospital.

Fletcher said "everyone is going to have to give something" and that anyone was "naive" to think that state government, including the universities, could not find "efficiencies" without cutting services.

Ramsey said services already have been affected at his university.

"We are leaving faculty positions vacant. ... Tuition will go up. It's a whole gamut of factors," he said.

Ransdell said Western would have to eliminate programs but would not engage in "across-the-board cutting."