Friday, January 18, 2008
Governor Culver Proud Of Increasing Funds For Iowa's Community Colleges
Appropriations up more than 11 percent since FY 2007
(DES MOINES) – Today Governor Chet Culver was proud to present a budget earlier in the week which increased funding for community colleges to record levels. Since becoming Iowa’s 40th Governor in January 2007, funding for Iowa’s community colleges will have increased from $159,597,244 in Fiscal Year 2007 to $177,462,414, his budget recommendation for Fiscal Year 2009 – an increase of more than 11 percent. After increasing funding for community colleges to record levels last year, Governor Culver once again increased funding for community colleges by $3.5 million.
“There is no Governor in the country more committed to education, and community colleges, than myself,” said Governor Culver. “As a former teacher, I understand the value of a quality education and the importance of Iowa’s community college system. I am proud of the fact that we have supported investing in our community colleges at their highest levels ever under my administration. We have some budget realities tied to economic challenges at the national level which are reflected in my budget at all levels. The good news is that while we have been forced to make some tough decisions in my budget, which included cuts for many departments, community colleges are one of the few sectors that have received an increase in funding.”
Governor Culver showed that state General Fund dollars going directly to community colleges have increased 1.8 percent annually from FY 2000 to FY 2007, and an impressive 5.6 percent annually from FY 2007 to the Governor’s current proposed FY 2009 budget.
Governor Culver continued, “It’s no secret that this is a lean budget year, but I look forward to working with the legislature to make certain that community colleges are funded at the highest possible level.”