BLACKSBURG -- Virginia Tech President Charles Steger will hold two public "town hall" meetings next week to discuss how the university will deal with cuts in state funding next fiscal year that could amount to more than $30 million.

The meetings take place as the General Assembly considers revised plans to Gov. Tim Kaine's proposed budget plan.

The plan, announced in December, proposed more than $600 million in cuts to education to help offset a $2.9 billion revenue shortfall in the two-year budget that expires June 30, 2010. The administration will issue a revised revenue forecast later this month that will likely show that shortfall growing larger.

Tech's budget would be cut by nearly $30 million under Kaine's December proposal.

But that number is likely to shift later this month, with the revised revenue forecast, further discussion of budget proposals in Richmond and the passing of a federal stimulus package that could add billions to state coffers.

Tech spokesman Mark Owczarski said Tuesday said the meetings will be an important part of the process as the administration considers ways to cut costs and increase revenue.

"The idea is to try to get people to share their thoughts and ideas about where savings can be had, what efficiencies can be made," he said. "Ideas from the folks, the faculty, the staff."

The stimulus package is expected to be signed into law this month and the General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn Feb. 28.

The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors typically sets tuition for the upcoming year at its March meeting and passes the budget for the upcoming fiscal year in June.

Whatever the number, Steger has warned that the cuts will likely require across-the-board reductions in staff through attrition and hiring freezes and possibly elimination of programs.

Last month he told the House Appropriations Committee that Tech is also considering a 9 percent tuition increase to deal with the reductions. The university raised tuition and fees by 10.8 percent last year.

Steger has said repeatedly that an early retirement incentive is not an option the administration is considering and he has stressed that he wants to minimize the impact on people -- suggesting that hiring freezes are preferable to layoffs.

State funding to Tech was cut by 5 percent in the fall and Kaine's December proposal would cut it by 15 percent -- which translates to about 5.5 percent of the university's total budget.