WSU Director of State Relations Chris Mulick on Tuesday lauded Governor Jay Inslee’s operating budget proposal for keeping to key commitments while asking the Legislature to hold higher education harmless in the budget it sends him this spring.
The governor’s proposal funds WSU’s $3.6 million request to complete funding for the 20-seat expansion of the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. Funding was provided in 2019 for the first and second year and the university is seeking funding for third- and fourth-year instruction. This would complete core funding for the medical school, originally authorized by the Legislature in 2015.
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.
However, the governor’s proposal also included new reductions, most notably requiring higher education faculty and staff to take one furlough day every month for 24 months.
The House and Senate will craft their own proposals before agreeing on a compromise to send to the governor before adjourning the 2021 session.
Video of WSU’s testimony can be viewed below (01:04:03):