Hobbs: UofA needs to resolve budget crisis without extra state funding

Gov. Katie Hobbs said she's not looking to include money in next year's budget to bail the University of Arizona out of its self-inflicted budget crisis.

Driving the news: Axios Phoenix asked Hobbs during a press conference Wednesday whether she'd like to provide additional state funding to help UofA out of its financial shortfall or if the university should resolve the problem itself, to which she said: "I think the latter."

• However, Hobbs said she doesn't believe the school should cut financial aid to students.

Of note: Even if Hobbs or lawmakers want to provide extra funding to UofA, it may be difficult considering the state is likely facing its own budget shortfall of at least $400 million for the current fiscal year.

State of play: UofA president Robert Robbins informed faculty earlier this month that the university faced an unexpected deficit of about $240 million.

• The school thought it had 156 days' worth of cash on hand for the remainder of the fiscal year, but it only had 97.
• Now, the university is considering drastic measures to make up the shortfall, such as ending its four-year tuition guarantee for undergraduates and cutting athletic programs.
• The Arizona Board of Regents has requested a plan to address the budget crisis from the university by Dec. 15.

What she's saying: Hobbs said she spoke with Robbins on Tuesday. "I'm concerned about the fact that this sort of just happened and there hasn't been a lot of oversight. And I think right now the priority is getting to the bottom and finding out what happened and what can be done to make sure they're on solid fiscal ground."

• Some UofA employees are now calling for an outside group to conduct an audit of the situation.