Kansas University Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little testifies Feb. 9, 2016, before the House Appropriations Committee about KU's 50 million Central District development project.

Tuesday’s multimillion-dollar cuts to higher education funding by the Kansas Legislature were “not entirely unexpected” but will be difficult to manage, Kansas University Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said Wednesday.

“Many of our unit heads and budget managers have been making prudent decisions over the past year in view of a possible reduction,” she said in a statement. “But even so, a $7.18 million cut presents significant challenges and will require difficult decisions moving forward.”

The cuts mean a reduction of $3.95 million for KU’s Lawrence campus and $3.23 million for KU Medical Center for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, Gray-Little said.

It’s not yet clear how KU will recoup that money.

The KU administration, through KU Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Tim Caboni, declined to answer further budget questions Wednesday beyond the chancellor’s written statement.

“We continue to work closely with the Governor’s Office, the Regents and state legislators,” Gray-Little said. “We will keep you posted as we learn more.”

Gray-Little’s statement was in reaction to Tuesday’s news that state revenues fell $53.6 million short of expectations in February, creating a budget deficit for the current fiscal year.

Gov. Sam Brownback notified Board of Regents universities that he was implementing a 3 percent, or $17 million, “allotment” cut.

Breeze Richardson, spokeswoman for the Board of Regents, had said immediately after Brownback announced the cut that it would be up to the board to decide how to distribute those cuts among the six universities and that the cuts wouldn’t necessarily be spread evenly across the board. She said the decision would be announced by the end of the week.

But on Wednesday, the Regents reversed course and announced the cuts would be spread evenly, and the decision was made without a full meeting of the board.

“The Division of Budget assumed the 3-percent (state general fund) allocation would be applied equally across the affected institutions and asked the Board of Regents to confirm,” Richardson said in an email.

“Given the full Board wasn’t scheduled to meet until March 23, and a decision was needed quickly, the Chair of the Board (Shane Bangerter) was consulted and based on prior discussions with the Board regarding preference when an allotment is made coupled with the spirit of the Board’s stated legislative position that no monies be moved between state universities, confirmation was given that the 3-percent allocation will be applied equally across the affected institutions.”

The Regents released figures Wednesday showing that Kansas State University, its veterinary school and its agricultural extension research programs will lose $4.9 million.

Wichita State University will lose $2.2 million; Pittsburg State, almost $1.1 million; Fort Hays State, $992,000; and Emporia State, almost $922,000, according to the Regents.

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.