Topeka ? The Kansas University chancellor and Kansas State University president are speaking out against a proposal to freeze college tuition in the state.

KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little, in a letter Monday to faculty and staff, called the proposal a “curious move by legislators.” She said the proposal does nothing to address the state’s revenue shortfall and that KU remains affordable compared with its peer universities.

When adjusted for inflation, per-student state support for KU has declined nearly 40 percent over the past 15 years, according to Gray-Little’s letter.

“While we share legislators’ focus on affordability, there are serious implications for freezing tuition, most notably that it prevents us from being able to keep up with inflation, let alone to embark on new initiatives to benefit Kansas,” Gray-Little wrote.

K-State President Kirk Schultz said in a statement Friday that a proposal inserted into a budget being considered by the Legislature would hurt the university’s ability to provide quality academic programs, the Associated Press reported. Schultz said that forcing state universities to maintain fixed tuition rates while holding state funding to flat levels for the next two years would remove flexibility from their budgets.

Schultz said Kansas State’s annual enrollment has grown by more than 2,300 students since 2001 and adopting a freeze at this time would have devastating effects.

Because of the growth in funding demands, Schultz said the proposal would effectively result in the biggest budget cut in the university’s history.