Make Your Voice Heard on Virginia’s Budget Proposals

Today’s topic is an update on the VCCS legislative agenda: Hire Virginia.

At this point, Virginia has three working budget proposals, reflecting the priorities of Governor Youngkin, the House of Delegates and the Senate. While VCCS has received funding for its Hire Virginia agenda in all three, the amounts vary as do the requirements and restrictions on the funding. Overall, the Senate budget bill provides more funding for VCCS than the others, as noted below.

The Senate’s proposal adds $10 million to the $15 million in Governor Youngkin’s introduced budget. The Senate also expands the potential uses for these funds: colleges would be required to have an employer match and could then draw down dollars for new program development in high-demand fields and on-campus CTE high school dual enrollment.

The Senate budget also includes the $3 million for Career Placement Services and $3 million for Marketing introduced in the Governor’s budget.

The Senate and House budgets add 2% to the Governor’s proposed 5% wage increase for state employees. This now-7% raise would be both welcomed and well-deserved by our dedicated staff and full-time and adjunct faculty, but it would also create budget concerns if unfunded by the state. The Senate budget includes sufficient funding ($29.7 million) to cover the cost of a 7% salary increase; however, the House budget includes less than half as much funding ($14.5 million) and places a 1% cap on any tuition increase.

NOVA deeply appreciates that the Governor, House and Senate have proposed additional funding for Virginia’s community colleges and raises for our outstanding faculty and staff. Hire Virginia addresses the Commonwealth’s overwhelming demand for new workers and the need to support our students and employees, so NOVA will continue to advocate for a final budget that reflects funding closer to that proposed by the Senate. Of note, for our students, the Senate recommendation will also allow the VCCS to hold the line on tuition increases for the sixth year in a row.

If you are interested in adding your voice to this advocacy, you can reach out to your elected leaders and share your thoughts on VCCS funding. Should you have any questions, please reach out to Dana Kauffman, director of government affairs (TKauffman@nvcc.edu).