Sam Jones' memorandum to the president and the provost regarding state budget
MEMORANDUM
TO: W. Taylor Reveley, III
P. Geoffrey Feiss
FROM: Samuel E. Jones
SUBJECT: General Assembly Budget Actions: Conferees Report
On Saturday, February 28, the House of Delegates and Senate approved amendments to the Commonwealth's 2008-10 operating and capital budgets as recommended by the budget conferees. While the Commonwealth's revenue picture continues to deteriorate, the availability of federal stimulus funds allows the state to defer much of the impact of a reduced revenue base until next biennium. As a result, the General Assembly is able to offset for a limited time a number of the FY 2010 budget reductions initially recommended by Governor Kaine.
Key elements of the General Assembly's budget recommendations include the following:
-
Faculty and
Staff Salaries-No funds are included
to support faculty and staff salary increases in this biennium.
-
Restoration of
Budget Reductions-While the College will
have to permanently absorb the $3.4 million reduction in state support announced
last October, federal stimulus funds are used to offset $3.8 million
of the $3.9 million in additional state funding reductions originally
recommended for the main campus in FY 2010.
An additional $660,000 in federal stimulus funds are used to offset
reduced state support for the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. State funds are used to restore two thirds of
the Eminent Scholars reduction. The
College's share of this restoration is estimated to be $847,000. While the General Assembly was able to use
one-time federal stimulus funds to offset a good portion of the additional FY
2010 budget reductions recommended by the Governor, these funds are one-time
dollars and should be seen only as bridge funding to help us better manage FY
2010.
-
Student
Financial Aid-The General Assembly
allocates $10 million in incremental need-based undergraduate student financial
aid across the higher education system.
The College's share of this allocation is $109,355. While Governor Kaine initially recommended an
additional $26 million in student aid, the Assembly now expects that with the
infusion of federal stimulus funds it will preclude the need for large tuition
increases, and thus the larger increases in financial aid.
-
Tuition Policy-While there do not appear to be specific restrictions
placed on tuition action that may be taken by the Board of Visitors, the conferees report does state that "Federal
funds are expected to mitigate the need for tuition and fee increases on
in-state students". As a result, the
State Council of Higher Education is to report to the General Assembly on FY
2010 tuition and fee actions in fall, 2009.
-
Percentage of
In-State/Out-of-State Undergraduates-There
does not appear to be any new language relating to the percentage of in-state/out-of-state
undergraduates that the College must admit.
-
Capital Projects-The General Assembly authorizes the College to use
$2.05 million of our own funds and $2.2 million in federal funds to support
planning of Integrated Science Center 3.
Language is included allowing the College to be reimbursed for any
nongeneral funds it may commit to the planning process.
-
Capital Fee
for Out-of-State Students-The General
Assembly increases the per credit hour capital fee charged to out-of-state
students. This fee is intended to
recognize the benefit that out-of-state students receive from new or renovated
academic facilities supported through state issued debt. Revenue generated from this fee is used to
offset a portion of the debt service incurred by the Commonwealth for these
projects.
The General Assembly's budget actions will now be forwarded to the Governor for his approval or amendment. The General Assembly will return in early April to consider any changes proposed by the Governor.
I will keep you informed as we learn more. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this summary.
