Operating budget proposal funds WSU priorities, includes furlough program

The pandemic-era operating budget proposal introduced by Governor Jay Inslee Thursday calls for the implementation of a furlough, but also funds core WSU priorities.

It’s just the first of three budget proposals to be introduced before a compromise is reached next spring. The Legislature convenes in January, when the House and Senate will begin crafting their proposals.

The governor’s budget funds WSU’s $3.6 million request to provide third and fourth year instruction as part of the 20-seat expansion for the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine approved in 2019. The request would complete a seven-year effort to authorize and fund the state’s second public medical school.

The budget also provided $497,000 of WSU’s $931,000 request to provide maintenance and operations funding for the new academic building currently under construction at WSU Tri-Cities.

Further, the budget provides $2.1 million to fund the Soil Health Initiative, a research program advanced by WSU and partners in the 2020 legislative session. It was funded but then vetoed in March by the governor along with other new spending proposals as the state faced the onset of a budget crisis presented by the pandemic.

The Governor’s budget also retains full funding for the Washington College Grant.