By TAYLOR STUCK
The Herald-Dispatch
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — While West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has no plans to immediately replenish the funds taken from higher education budgets over the past few years, some institutions will still see some more money in their coffers come July, thanks to actions from the Legislature in 2017.
Charleston became an exhausting place for leaders of West Virginia’s higher education institutions over the past several years. As the state attempted to navigate an economic downturn from loss of revenue from industries like coal, higher education absorbed cut after cut to their budgets with many institutions, including Marshall University, having to raise tuition to keep up.
In fact, since fiscal year 2013, all Higher Education Policy Commission institutions have seen a 20.74 percent reduction to their base budgets
However, as the Legislature kicks off in 2018, the economic outlook is much more optimistic, with Justice presenting a balanced budget this week and predictions that fiscal year 2018 will end on target.
For the first time since 2013, no cuts to higher education are proposed or expected, but there is no plan to begin refunding higher education budgets back to the original base.
Read the entire article: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/west-virginia-colleges-to-gain-more-funds-in-july/article_48aa3d72-5f87-57f3-aff2-3355c59cae70.html
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