ORONO -- The University of Maine System Board of Trustees approved a two-year budget request today to be considered as part of the state's 2010-11 biennial budget package.

The budget plan follows a self-imposed $19.1 million reduction in system operating costs over the last year, said spokesman John Diamond. It calls for 4.5 percent annual increases in state appropriations that university officials hope will allow them to keep next year's tuition increase below 6 percent.

The trustees met in Orono and adopted the proposal after a detailed financial report from Chancellor Richard Pattenaude and Chief Financial Officer Joanne Yestramski.

The state's current annual appropriation for the system is $186 million. That represents 36 percent of the system's total unrestricted operation budget, excluding grants, contracts and other dedicated funds.

In its two-year budget request, the system seeks an $8.5 million increase (4.5 percent) for 2009-10 and an $8.7 million increase (4.5 percent) for 2010-11.

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