Today at noon, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education chair Rep. Kathy Haigh (D-Shelton) released the details of her 2008 supplemental operating budget recommendations. Unfortunately, the proposed budget represents a step backwards for the UW from the Governor’s budget recommendations issued in December.
A total of $100,000 in funding for the UW’s community alert system (which had been included in the Governor’s budget) was removed. In it’s place, the chair’s budget included $88,000 for one new mental health professional to provide counseling services for UW students. While the University is supportive of the student request for additional mental health counseling positions, it was not intended to come at the expense of previously requested funding for campus security items. A total of $125,000 for the Ruckelshaus Center to conduct a land use study was retained from the Governor’s original recommendation.
In addition, the $1.1 million included in the Governor’s budget for the UW North Sound campus was shifted to the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges to expand enrollment growth in two-year partnerships with other four-year institutions in the Snohomish, Island and Skagit county areas. The funds would also be used for outreach and marketing to other two year and public schools in the region.
The chair’s proposed budget includes no funding for any additional UW supplemental operating budget requests, including restoration of the non-resident graduate subsidy reduction from last year’s biennial budget, campus safety items, etc.
The Washington Student Lobby secured the inclusion of $2 million in new funding, equally split between the Higher Education Coordinating Board and the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, for their priority legislation HB 2582, which will significantly increase the amount of funding for student childcare throughout the entire higher education system.
The UW’s $250,000 request to enhance childcare opportunities for faculty, staff and students was not funded.
The committee is scheduled to take public testimony on the chair’s recommendations tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. and is scheduled to act on the proposal in committee Wednesday evening. For those of you who want to read the details on your own, you can access the subcommittee’s budget recommendations at: http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/budget/detail/2008/ho2008EDp.asp