As the state budget picture worsens, leaders of Georgia’s technical-college system are proposing to merge 14 colleges to save money, according to a report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The move would save an estimated $3.5-million just by eliminating the salaries and benefits of seven presidents.

The Technical College System of Georgia has no plans to eliminate programs or actual campuses, but the mention of cuts has already rankled state lawmakers from the districts of colleges that would be merged. Legislators must approve the system’s annual budget.

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, a Republican and president of the state Senate, has voiced his support for campus consolidation, the newspaper reported. —Eric Kelderman