State chancellor presents higher ed funding request

James Beaty, McAlester News-Capital, Okla.
·3 min read

Jan. 12—Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Chancellor Allison D. Garrett is hopeful state legislators will fulfill a request to increase higher education funding after the opening day of the 59th legislative session begins on Feb. 6.

But even if higher education in the state receives everything that's sought, it will still be less than needed, she said.

"If we were to be fully funded, we would still be a couple of hundred million below average per pupil funding," Garrett said, referring to the national average.

Garrett spoke with the News-Capital following a gathering Thursday at Pete's Place in Krebs, which included several college presidents or their representatives, along with a few state legislators, including District 17 State Rep. Jim Grego, R-Wilburton, and a select group of student representatives.

During the gathering, Garrett presented the 2023 legislative agenda and the 2024 Fiscal Year request for higher eduction to the state legislators, higher education officials and community leaders in attendance.

Eastern Oklahoma State College, which has campuses in Wilburton and McAlester, served as host for the event.

"We're excited to bring everybody down each year and talk about the future and legislative initiatives," EOSC President Janet Wansick said prior to the event. "We're excited to bring the chancellor down."

In addition to Chancellor Garrett, members of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education attending the Krebs gathering included Vice-Chair Steven W. Taylor, of McAlester, and member Ann Holloway.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Regents funding request for the 2024 Fiscal Year is for $985,997,882. That's a $105,091,971 increase over the funding request for the 2023 Fiscal year, or an 11.9% increase over the $880,905,911 Fiscal Year 2023 state appropriation, as adjusted.

Proposed increases over the previous year's amounts are covered in four areas of the FY 2024 Budget Needs funding request the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education are asking legislators to consider, including:

—Legislative Initiatives and Programming— $22,960,474. That includes $3.5 million under Senate Bill 1418 for an annualized National Guard Scholarship Program; another $17,378,500 for House Bill 3564 for the Oklahoma Future Teacher Scholarship and Employment Incentive Program and an additional $2,081,974 for the Concurrent Enrollment for All High School Juniors and Seniors program.

—Critical Workforce Needs — $26,325,000. It includes $20 million for Healthcare Workforce Critical Needs, with $10 million for Nursing Direct Instruction and Workforce Needs Response, along with another $10 million for Medical Residents and Other Professional Degrees.

Also, $5,750,000 is requested for fields related to STEM programs (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) with another $575,000 requested for Adult Degree Completion Student Aid Initiatives.

—Institutional Excellence and Student Success. — $49,306,497. That breaks down to $36,706,497 for Performance-Based Allocations; $5 million for Student Support/Career Services Reinvestment; $5 million for Institution Collaboration and Consolidation Assistance Fund; $600,000 for OSRHE Institutional Shared Services Initiatives and $2 million for OSRHE Data Analytics, Digital Transformation and Cyber Security.

—Capital Funding — $6.5 million for Campus Systems Improvements/Obsolete Structure Demolition.

That brings the FY 2024 Total Budget Need to $985,997,882, accounting for the nearly 12% increase over the 2023 Funding Request and the current one for the 2024 Fiscal Year.

During the meeting, EOSC student Trent Fronterhouse addressed the gathering, relating he's from Gerty, the small community in Hughes County about eight miles south of Calvin. He said many residents live at, or just above, the poverty line.

"I never thought I would be able to attend college, until I discovered Eastern," Fronterhouse said. He called the state's junior colleges one of the best stepping stones to a career.

"I'm thankful and blessed to have attended Eastern Oklahoma State College, and to take what I've learned from EOSC and apply it to my college and my career."" said Fronterhouse.