The economic upswing that most states have been enjoying since 2005 appears to have come to an end across much of the United States, according to a report being released this week by the National Conference of State Legislatures, and that trend could herald declines in state spending on higher education.

After experiencing improvements in their finances at the end of the 2005 and 2006 fiscal years, a majority of states saw their fiscal conditions decline over the 2007 fiscal year, which ended on June 30 in most states, the report says.

Aggregate year-end balances fell in the states by almost 7 percent, from $58.1-billion in the 2006 fiscal year to $54.1-billion in 2007, according to the report. A total of 28 states experienced drops in their balances at the end of the 2007 fiscal year, while 17 states saw increases. Five states — California, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, and Wisconsin — had not completed their budgets in time to be included in the study.

Matters were expected to get worse in the current fiscal year. The report says that aggregate year-end balances in states’ budgets are projected to decline by 24.3 percent, to $41-billion.

Nevertheless, states have budgeted more money for higher education in 2008, the report says. Funds for colleges were set to increase by 7.9 percent this fiscal year, with 13 states providing increases of 10 percent or more. Two states (Rhode Island and Vermont) reported drops in spending on higher education. —Sara Hebel