Legislative Relations

SBCTC Operating Budget Request for 2025-2027

Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges are asking the Legislature to keep our colleges whole and to invest in core operational support and employee compensation. These investments are vital for delivering high-quality instruction and services to our 290,000 students, as well as for supporting the local communities and employers that rely on their skills and contributions.

Maintain previously approved state allocation ($28.6 million in fiscal year 2025, carried forward in 2025-27)

We respectfully request the Legislature preserve funding already approved for our colleges in the 2023-25 operating budget for fiscal year 2025 ($28.6 million) and carry forward those investments for each year of the 2025-27 biennium (for a biennial total of $57 million). A proposed rollback of funding due to a state budget error would effectively amount to a budget cut this academic year. Our colleges were advised of the error at the start of fall quarter and, by then, had already dedicated the funds in good faith to support programs and services, hire staff, enter vendor contracts, and pay for increasing operating costs — all in service to students. Rolling back approved funding for the college system would be a budget cut when colleges are already struggling to retain employees and manage rising costs.

Advance Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ($26 million)

Students of color have been profoundly affected by racial injustice, institutional barriers and the pandemic. Our ongoing, mission-driven work to advance equity, diversity and inclusion was strengthened by the Legislature in 2021 with the passage of Senate Bills 5194 and 5227. Additional investments will support further implementation of college EDI plans, close equity gaps, and improve the employment, earnings and economic mobility of students of color. In doing so, we will help create a more equitable and prosperous Washington.

Provide Fully Funded, Competitive Compensation ($183 million)

Faculty and staff are at the heart of our students’ success, but we are losing them to better paying jobs in private industry, K-12 schools, and other colleges and universities. Along with faculty, we are struggling to hire and retain administrative and classified staff who serve in crucial roles in financial aid, business operations, and advising. A salary increase of 6.5% for each year of the biennium, for a total wage increase of 13%, would help colleges provide competitive compensation, fill vacant positions, and reduce turnover. We urge the Legislature to continue to provide 100% funding for compensation in the 2025-27 operating budget. Otherwise, colleges would have to make budget cuts elsewhere to close the funding gap.

Support College Operations ($90 million)

Community and technical colleges urgently need additional, core operational support to cover the true cost of running a college. College operating costs have increased dramatically over the past five years and Washington’s tuition formula has not kept pace with the increases. Rising costs and capped tuition rates have squeezed college operating budgets and, within those narrow funding margins, colleges must dedicate a significant portion to unavoidable costs: About 80% of college funding is dedicated to salaries and a significant amount is tied to specific purposes under legislative provisos. Faced with rising costs, capped tuition rates, and inflexible funding, colleges have limited ability to secure or shift resources to where they are needed the most. Legislative funding for core operational support would help cover essential costs, ensure sufficient funding for student programs and services, and enable colleges to meet their unique local needs.

SBCTC Capital Budget Request

Preserve, Optimize, Modernize

In today’s rapidly changing higher education landscape, community and technical colleges need to offer safe, modern spaces for teaching and learning and provide the best training ground for new and emerging career fields. Our community and technical college system’s $652.8 million capital budget request is designed to meet both those goals.

Who We Serve

Anchored in local communities across Washington, our 34 community and technical colleges collectively served about 290,000 students in the 2023-24 academic year. We proudly serve a very diverse student population. Our students are more likely to be the first in their families to attend college, come from lower-income families, be people of color, hold down jobs while enrolled, and care for parents or children. The median age is 26.

Minor Works

Our request prioritizes minor works projects ahead of all other work to prevent or delay more costly renovations and replacement projects in the future.

In this request, our state’s 34 community and technical colleges would receive funding for high-priority facility repairs — such as repairing or replacing roofs, windows, elevators, boilers, and mechanical systems — and to proactively replace campus infrastructure that is beyond its useful life, before it fails.

All colleges would also receive funding to modernize existing spaces to ensure they continue to be viable, relevant, and useful..

Major Projects

Our capital budget request includes funding for 12 major projects, starting with a study of possible solutions for Lake Swano dam at Grays Harbor College. Considered “high hazard” by the Department of Ecology, the dam poses an imminent threat to public safety in the south Aberdeen area. A dam failure would significantly disrupt campus operations by cutting off utilities and access to several buildings and by eliminating the college’s alternate tsunami evacuation route.

The remaining projects on the list support space for instruction, labs, student services, and vocational programs in high-demand fields like clean energy, automotive technology, advanced manufacturing, and allied health. Nearly 241,000 square feet of the college system’s oldest and least functional teaching and learning spaces would be replaced or renovated.

Clean Buildings Act Compliance

Our college system seeks funding for each college to inventory energy-consuming equipment on campus — such as HVACs, boilers, and lighting systems — in order to develop Energy Management and Operations and Maintenance plans required by the 2019 Clean Buildings Act.

Owners of buildings that need to comply with the Clean Buildings Act are required to have a qualified person submit compliance reports for affected buildings, with the first report due in 2026. A second part of this request is to enable colleges to either train staff to become qualified to submit compliance reports or contract with others who are qualified.

YVC Impact

Maintaining the previously approved state allocation in the 2025-27 operating budget is of critical importance to Yakima Valley College students. Rolling back that funding would reduce our budget by approximately $2 million and erode our ability to offer an excellent education and support services, such as tutoring and personal academic advising, that are essential to students successfully completing their degree or certificate. At YVC, 75% of students are the first in their family to attend college and 64% come from low-income households. Keeping our budget whole is important to maintain a quality education that enables students to achieve a better life and prepare the outstanding workforce that is necessary for the long-term prosperity of the Yakima Valley.

In addition, Yakima Valley College’s proposed Prior Kendall Hall project is among the system’s future capital projects. YVC is expanding enrollment capacity in its Associate Degree in Nursing program and recently launched a new Practical Nursing program, the only PN program in Eastern Washington, to help fill a critical shortage of these health care professionals in Yakima, Kittitas and Klickitat counties. These programs will be housed in the proposed project, which includes spaces that mimic clinical settings. In addition, the proposed building will feature a career center and IT collaboration space.

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SBCTC Supplemental Operating Budget Request for 2024

Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges train people across our state for well-paying careers while providing businesses with the talent they need to thrive. Our college system’s 2024 supplemental budget request focuses on a critical workforce need: preparing more Washington residents to fill jobs in the fast-growing computer science field while building a diverse, high-tech workforce.

Strengthening the Computer Science Workforce ($9 million)

Our college system proposes to create at least 15 more Bachelor of Science in Computer Science programs as authorized by the Legislature in 2021 (SB 5401). The demand for high-tech workers in Washington is high. Our state ranks first in the nation for the concentration of tech workers relative to the overall employment base: Nearly one in 10 workers (9.4%) in Washington is employed in the tech industry. High tech careers pay well: The median annual salary for people employed in tech occupations in Washington is $130,000.

Despite this good news, local employers looking for tech talent continue to encounter a skills shortage. Additionally, access to high-paying jobs is not equitably distributed; Black, Hispanic, and women workers are under-represented in Washington’s high tech industry.

Expanding access to computer science bachelor’s degrees would help fill skill gaps for Washington employers and provide community and technical college students — half of whom are students of color — access to these in-demand degrees within their local communities.

Expanding climate solutions curriculum ($950,000)

Climate change is a health issue, an economic issue, and an equity issue that affects every community. Green jobs in Washington state are growing exponentially and require new skill sets and competencies, along with a thoughtful redesign of existing programs to be more accessible and responsive to changing employer and community needs.

A legislative investment would support the integration of climate education and training into professional technical programs across Washington community and technical colleges, including developing new curricula and workforce training partnerships with Tribes. The training prepares students for well-paying jobs in the green economy, gives them skills to create equitable community-based solutions, and ultimately helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the impacts of climate change.

The Legislature provided one-time funding for climate solutions curriculum in the 2022 supplemental operating budget, which engaged approximately 500 faculty in developing hundreds of new curricular modules to teach critical skills and competencies for the green economy and climate solutions. This investment would enable colleges to continue this important work.

SBCTC Supplemental Capital Budget Request for 2024

Investing in College Campuses and Climate Recovery

Our community and technical college system’s $122 million supplemental request targets reducing greenhouse gas emissions, emergency repairs at Bellingham Technical College, and funding two priority capital projects.

Energy-performance standards

According to the Washington State Department of Commerce, buildings are the most rapidly growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Washington state. The building sector is the state’s second largest carbon polluter behind transportation, and accounts for 27% of statewide emissions. Investing in building energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to significantly reduce building sector emissions.

With full funding of this request, our colleges would:

• Install energy submeters in individual buildings to ensure compliance with energy performance standards established under the 2019 Clean Buildings Act (HB 1257) and then expanded in 2022 (SB 5722). Fast action is required to meet the first mandatory compliance date of June 1, 2026.
• Develop decarbonization plans for campuses with centralized heating and cooling plants. Decarbonization plans for campuses with centralized energy systems serving at least five buildings and more than 100,000 square feet of building space are required under HB 1390, which sets a due date of June 30, 2024 for planning to begin, and June 30, 2025 for them to be submitted to the Department of Commerce for review and approval.
• Tune up and optimize inefficient building systems through a “retro-commissioning” grant program. The grant program would be created through this request and administered by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.

These investments would equip colleges to meet state energy performance standards for buildings, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve operational efficiencies, and avoid significant penalties, thereby preserving funding for instruction and student services.

Priority design and construction projects

Our college system’s 2024 budget request also seeks funding for repairs to the Bellingham Technical College Campus Center Building and two major capital projects not funded in the biennial budget: the Center for Vocational and Transitional Studies at Lower Columbia College in Longview, and the Performing Arts Building replacement at Columbia Basin College in Pasco. Funding these requests would serve students while reducing a backlog of capital projects needed across Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges.

Among the backlog of future capital projects is Yakima Valley College’s proposed Prior Kendall Hall project. YVC is expanding enrollment capacity in its Associate Degree in Nursing program and recently launched a new Practical Nursing program, the only PN program in Eastern Washington, to help fill a critical shortage of these health care professionals in Yakima, Kittitas and Klickitat counties. These programs will be housed in the proposed project, which includes spaces that mimic clinical settings. In addition, the proposed building will include a career center and IT collaboration space.

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