The new state budget approved by the legislature last Friday includes additional funding for two local higher education institutions, but not as much money as each had requested.
WVU Tech and West Virginia State University had each hoped for extra money. Tech says it needs it to revitalize the Montgomery campus while State hopes to fill a financial hole created when the community and technical college was made its own entity.
House of Delegates Finance Committee Chairman Harry Keith White says the new budget has given a total of $1.6 million and the state Higher Education Policy Commission will decide how to divide it.
White says those who want more money from the schools can always approach the governor and ask for it to be included in a budget supplement.
In another budget move, the transit systems based in Kanawha and Cabell counties asked for $150,000 to continue funding for the morning and evening weekday route between Huntington and Charleston, but the legislature did not approve the requested amount.
“It was a program funded with federal dollars,” White said. “We didn’t want to get into using state dollars to supplement the loss of federal dollars.”
The transit groups are now trying to determine the impact of the legislative action.
