The board tasked with broad oversight of Oregon鈥檚 public universities and community colleges signed off on its $4.75 billion budget proposal Thursday. But the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission was not happy with it.
鈥淸W]e are seriously concerned that at the funding levels described within our [Agency Recommended Budget], Oregon will hinder progress towards state goals for postsecondary education and training,鈥� read a approved by commissioners and signed by chair Sandy Rowe.
The was informed by the agency鈥檚 strategic plan as well as public comment and input from individual commissioners. But the biggest constraint on spending plans came from limits set by Kotek and the state鈥檚 finance office.
The commission鈥檚 spending levels 鈥渁dhere to budget instructions developed by the Governor and Chief Financial Office (CFO), including that the HECC limit its requests for new General Fund spending to 1% of its total 2023-25 General Fund budget, or about $31 million,鈥� the commission said in its summary of the budget approval agenda item.
With only $31 million to add to its current budget, HECC said it was hard-pressed to offer Oregon students an affordable education and necessary support. The commission letter said the governor鈥檚 spending limits were based on a 6.8% rise in labor costs, which falls short of 鈥渢he colleges鈥� and universities鈥� own projections of 11.5% and 9.5% increases respectively, discounting real-time collective bargaining agreements and other inflationary pressures.鈥�
Higher ed commissioner Richard Devlin was one of the leading budget experts in the Oregon Legislature, where he served for more than twenty years. Devlin complained that the Current Service Level, or CSL. amounts aren鈥檛 based on the financial realities at colleges and universities.
鈥淭he actual CSL that鈥檚 being produced by [the Department of Administrative Services] doesn鈥檛, in any way, reflect the actual underlying costs,鈥� Devlin told fellow commissioners at Thursday鈥檚 meeting. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 largely because the whole process and the whole methodology for producing that CSL isn鈥檛 based on any real analysis of costs.鈥�
The commission鈥檚 letter estimates it would take an additional $54 million to cover the gap between the governor鈥檚 labor cost estimate and what colleges and universities say it is.
The next step for HECC鈥檚 proposed budget is for inclusion in the governor鈥檚 proposed spending plan. The governor鈥檚 budget is set to come out Dec. 1, ahead of next year鈥檚 legislative session, during which lawmakers approve biennial budgets for all of the state government. The commission stated its hope is that Kotek and other legislators will increase spending above what HECC recommended.
If university and college spending ultimately reflects what HECC proposed, commissioners said in their letter that the funding level would 鈥渉inder progress towards state goals for postsecondary education and training鈥� and 鈥渨ould further shift the cost of postsecondary education from the State to students.鈥�
Much of the $31 million in additional spending would go toward the Oregon Opportunity Grant, one of the state鈥檚 main debt-free supports for students in need. But in their letter, HECC members say their proposed budget would not sufficiently support low- and middle-income students.
A final concern expressed by commissioners: some programs would not have dedicated support at all under the budget, because guidance from the governor鈥檚 office and chief financial office focused on ongoing spending, rather than one-time investments. For that reason, HECC says programs such as the Future Ready workforce initiative and the Oregon Conservation Corps would 鈥渃ease鈥� under the proposed budget.
In a press statement sent after the HECC鈥檚 budget approval, representatives of the Oregon Community College Association and the Oregon Council of Presidents urged the commission to 鈥渞econsider鈥� the proposal. Presidents of the student bodies at Oregon鈥檚 public universities argued HECC was falling well short of the additional $275 million requested by the institutions they attend.
鈥淭his budget fails to meet that need, meaning that students will be forced to pick up more cost,鈥� the student presidents said. 鈥淚t will impact the availability of wraparound services for students that help with access to more affordable housing, childcare, food insecurity, and transportation.鈥�
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