A new state budget has been approved for the fiscal year that began July first. Virginia lawmakers passed the state spending plan for FY 2023-24 on September 6 and Governor Glenn Youngkin signed the measure into law September 14. The new budget takes effect immediately and will affect operations at Virginia’s Community Colleges.
“We are grateful that the governor and state lawmakers reached agreement on vital questions regarding state spending,” said Dr. David Doré, Chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges. “As institutions of higher education that rely heavily on state budget decisions, we can now implement our plans for the current budget year with greater confidence they will promote the needs of our learners, our programs and our employees.”
“Finalizing the state budget is of great importance to our 15,000-plus employees and the tens of thousands of students attending our colleges statewide,” said Peggy Layne, Chair of the State Board for Community Colleges.
Dr. Craig Herndon, Senior Vice Chancellor for Administration, Finance and Technology, identified parts of the new state spending plan that are especially important to the VCCS:
- $7.5M to support start-up costs of workforce programs in high demand areas. This funding, which requires an employer match, is a downpayment on the resources we need to scale up to meet the regional workforce needs of the commonwealth. Our analysis points to a need for nearly $291M; our efforts to secure additional funding will be front and center in our legislative agenda for the coming year.
- An additional $5M per year for FastForward, bringing the total annual state investment to $18.5M per year. Without this funding, the pay-only-for-results FastForward program is at risk of running out of funds quite soon. This investment is welcome, but still more funding is needed to meet strong business demand for entry-level talent. We intend to seek that funding in the coming year as part of our legislative priorities.
- An additional 2% increase in compensation for our faculty and staff on top of the 5% compensation increase already provided in this fiscal year. This investment in our workforce – including our adjunct faculty – helps us to remain competitive in attracting and retaining the talent that powers our system of colleges. As a system, we will extend this 2% compensation increase to our part-time staff. This 2% increase would start on Dec 10 and show up in paychecks issued on Dec 31. The cost of this increase is not insignificant and is offset by the next item. Additional details are expected from the state’s Department of Human Resource Management in the weeks to come.
- $14.6M to maintain affordable access for our students. When combined with the $4.61 per credit our increase in tuition that the State Board approved at its July meeting, these funds address the significant increases in costs associated with the employee compensation increases, increases in employer-sponsored healthcare costs, and other must-fund items. With the information currently available to us, we estimate that this investment and our tuition increase will put us in a net neutral position. We expect more details from the state’s Department of Budget and Planning in the weeks to come.
You can learn more about the General Assembly’s budget plan at the legislature’s website.
You can learn more about the governor’s announcement regarding the budget agreement on the governor’s website.
