CHARLESTON — West Virginia’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education may consider a proposal to offset a new funding formula by asking the Legislature to allocate an additional $10 million to some regional 4-year institutions.
The proposal was made by Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert during a finance subcommittee meeting of the Blue Ribbon Commission.
“The only reason we have the Blue Ribbon Commission today is because of opposition to the original formula,” Gilbert told subcommittee members during a teleconference on Thursday. “I think this is a compromise solution.”
Gilbert’s proposal would provide: $568,000 for Bluefield State College, $1,822,000 for Concord University, $2,620,000 for Fairmont State University, $302,000 for Potomac State College of WVU, $2,840,000 for Shepherd University, $1,364,000 for West Liberty University and $484,000 for West Virginia State University.
The proposal would need to be taken up first by the full Blue Ribbon Commission and then would be subject to legislative approval.
Gilbert’s proposal envisions the $10 million as a combination of new money and up to $2 million in reallocation from the budget for the higher education policy commission.
He calculates the money would represent a restoration of about 16.7 percent of the funds that had been cut from higher education.
The most recent cut to higher education came in 2017 — a $16 million cut across the system as legislators grappled with balancing the state budget with declining revenue.
State revenue has been performing better in recent months, about $66 million above estimates for the first two months of this fiscal year.
“Our West Virginia colleges and universities are so critical to our communities, and the continued erosion of their stability deeply concerns me,” Justice stated then.
Justice established the Blue Ribbon Commission at the end of June, expressing desire to shore up the finances of West Virginia’s four-year colleges. He asked for a December deadline for recommendations.
Lawmakers including House Education Chairman Paul Espinosa, R-Jefferson, have expressed concern that the commission was a way to sidestep legislation mandating a new funding formula for the colleges.
Gilbert suggested his proposal would be a way to assure some funding balance in the short term, shoring up regional institutions, while gaining a little more time to work on the funding formula issue.
The subcommittee chairman, Gary White, a consultant and former interim president at Marshall University, echoed that.
“This is to bring equity to the current base and the second step would be to develop a performance-based formula,” White said.
Fairmont State President Mirta Martin suggested the increased funding shouldn’t just be viewed as a one-time bump but instead as a base model.
“Then we should get our heads together and provide a more reasonable and equitable funding model based on performance,” Martin said.
Eric Lewis, an accountant who serves on Shepherd’s board of directors, advocated for using Gilbert’s proposal as a starting point.
“This helps get us from one step to the next,” he said.
Lewis advocated for continued work on the funding formula, though.
“The reason we’re in this spot is because for 30 years we haven’t had anything resembling a formula,” he said. “It’s only been based on who your legislator or senator was.”
He added, “I think a formula that as much as possible takes politics out of this would benefit the entire state.”
Gilbert’s plan calls for the colleges receiving the additional $10 million to account for how they would use it.
After the $10 million is distributed, a group would begin to work on a new funding formula. The proposal says a formula “should include elements of productivity and enrollment and also should take into account the unique roles played by the various institutions in the state.”
Gilbert’s proposal says the state’s economy should play a role, too:
“It will be recommended to the legislature that they develop an approach for long-term funding of higher education that will be tied to the revenues of the state. As the revenue base of the state increases, a fixed percentage will be directed to higher education.”
