University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby won't ask for more funding for higher education next year, he told state lawmakers at the University of Georgia today.

And he won't "whine" about funding, either, he said. "Whatever amount of money you give us, we're going to do our darndest to spend it wisely," he said.

While UGA's taxpayer funding for salaries and other operating expenses has been cut over the past several years, the state has continued to spend on bonds for construction projects like the new veterinary hospital on College Station Road. But Huckaby said he won't propose any major new developments next year.

"We're not doing an optimal job using the facilities we have," he said. "Not everybody can take a class between 9 and 2 o'clock. We can't afford to have our classrooms and laboratories basically vacant on Fridays and certainly on Sundays."