Trustees committee proposes higher Penn State appropriation request

Penn State would like to go back in time, at least financially.

On Thursday, the finance, business and capital planning committee of the university’s board of trustees recommended approval for a 2016-17 budget that would turn back the clock to 2010, when Penn State received an appropriation of $264.3 million.

That number was whittled away over the years with a series of cuts. In 2014-15, Penn State’s education and general appropriation was $214.1 million.

The total request for the coming year would be $353.3 million, including the funds for Penn College in Williamsport, the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and agricultural and cooperative extension programs.

“Penn State’s budget plan and appropriation request echoes Gov. Wolf’s stated goal for the commonwealth to restore the 2011-12 cut in higher education support, and it reflects optimism that full restoration will be included in the 2016-17 budget year,” said Penn State President Eric Barron.

The university is still working without knowing exactly what the 2015-16 funding will end up being as Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and legislative Republicans continue to wrangle in Harrisburg, with education funding, including the land grant university’s chunk of money, being one of the sticking points.

Vice President for Government and Community Relations Michael DiRaimo told the trustees outreach committee that the belated budget is unlikely to be passed before Thanksgiving.

“Penn State froze base tuition for Pennsylvania undergraduate students for the current academic year of 2015-16. The commonwealth’s role in providing affordable access to an education at Pennsylvania’s land-grant university has never been more important,” Barron said.

Approval of the university’s next budget request would allow Penn State to keep in-state tuition flat for another year, he told the Centre Daily Times in a recent interview.

According to the university, the total package includes an additional $9 million for the agriculture and cooperative extension, $3 million more for Penn College, and a $1.3 million uptick for Hershey.

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Trustees committee proposes higher Penn State appropriation request."