The Kansas Board of Regents has a valid objection to legislation that would arbitrarily cut the salaries of about 1,500 state university employees.

As part of its effort to trim the current year’s budget, the Kansas House has approved a bill that would cut 7.5 percent from the salaries for legislators, state officers, judges and regents employees who make more than $100,000 per year.

The strategy is an improvement over the plan for a 7.5 percent across-the-board cut for all state employees, but it still will have some highly undesirable consequences. The regents’ primary concern is for top researchers, including some who have been hired by the Kansas University Medical Center as part of its pursuit of National Cancer Center status.

These researchers draw large salaries for a reason, and if Kansas isn’t willing to make good on those salaries, it’s a good bet that some other state will. One faculty member cited as an example last week is a distinguished professor of medicinal chemistry who has brought nearly $3 million in grants to KU. If a 7.5 percent salary reduction resulted in the loss of the professor and millions of dollars of grant funds, the state is the big loser.

Legislators need to recognize that cutting salaries is not a one-size-fits-all solution to the budget deficit. If salary cuts are a necessary part of the budget-balancing plan, legislators need to work with the state entities involved to make sure those cuts are applied in a way that doesn’t damage key state interests.