Washington State University issued its support of the Governor’s 2019-2021 biennial operating budget proposal during a hearing before the Senate Ways & Means Committee Tuesday evening.
The budget proposal, put forth by Governor Inslee back in December, includes $10.8 million to complete funding for third and fourth year instruction of the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine’s original class of 60 medical school students per cohort. The university is seeking an additional $3.6 million to support a planned growth to 80 students per cohort in Fall 2019 — though the governor’s budget contains other funds that could support that — as demand for specialists in core health sector disciplines across rural Washington continues to rise.
Additionally, the Governor’s proposal includes $15.4 million in compensation funding for WSU faculty and staff, $2.8 million to support a soil health research and Extension initiative, and expands the Washington College Promise Scholarship (formerly the State Need Grant) to serve an additional 6,000 students in the 2019-20 academic year, and an additional 12,000 students in 2020-21.
The Senate will consider testimony from last night’s hearing as they begin drafting their own budget proposal over the next month.
You can watch WSU’s testimony below.