The Michigan Senate Appropriations Committee approved on Wednesday a recommended budget that will now be presented on the floor of the state Senate.
The approved budget has a 2 percent increase in the higher education appropriations.
Under the recommended budget, the total appropriation for Michigan State University would be about $269.6 million — which means an increase of about $5.15 million. MSU Extension was assigned an appropriation of more than $28 million and more than $32.6 for MSU AgBioResearch.
“I think this is a good budget,” said state senator and Chairwoman of the state Senate Higher Education Subcommittee Tonya Schuitmaker, R-Lawton. “I think it ultimately achieves the greater goal of reducing student burden on them when it comes to the cost of obtaining a college education.”
The recommended appropriation for University of Michigan is more than $300.87 million, which includes more than $295 million for operations and nearly $5.7 million for performance funding.
State Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, also voted in favor of passing the bill to the Senate floor. Hertel is the co-chairman of the state Senate Higher Education Subcommittee.
“I’m philosophically opposed to using school aid fund for higher education but I am also philosophically opposed to underfunding universities,” Hertel said.
Hertel said the recommended budget has stepped in the right direction to bring the higher education budget to the same level as it was before Gov. Rick Snyder took office.
“I’ll never be satisfied but I am certainly glad that we are a percentage higher than the (state) House,” Hertel said. “The (state) House only raised it 1 percent so we doubled the increase for Michigan State University.”
Snyder’s first budget recommendation when he assumed office called for deep cuts in higher education appropriations, and MSU’s funding decreased 15 percent. Each year afterward MSU has received 1 to 2 percent increases, with the exception of last year.
On the budget recommendation for the 2015-2016 fiscal year, Snyder called for MSU to receive a 1.9 percent increase on its funding. The recommendation made by the state Senate calls for more.
Executive Director of Presidents Council State Universities of Michigan Michael Boulus said he was in favor of the 2 percent increase.
“We are pleased,” Boulus said. “We are not necessarily crazy about tuition cap, but we are willing to live with them as long as they are reasonable.”
