U-of-M says it will freeze tuition in fiscal 2019 if legislature restores $10M cut

University of Minnesota officials say they will hold tuition flat for undergraduates on all five campuses in fiscal year 2019 — if the legislature restores a 10-million-dollar cut that was made during final state budget negotiations last year.  President Eric Kaler hinted earlier the University might make the request. That was before lawmakers learned the state has a projected 329-million-dollar budget surplus — a turnaround from a 188-million-dollar deficit last November. But the extra money the state is forecast to have is relatively modest, and there are many special interests competing for it, including high priority items like school security. Kaler says the U will make the case to lawmakers that the budget surplus should benefit Minnesota’s future: our students.