March 7 Appropriations Hearing on Higher Education Budget

Legislative Report on Community Colleges and Collective Bargaining

As you may have heard, the 2018 legislative session ended at midnight. Democrats and Republicans were able to put forth a bipartisan $20.86 billion budget that was approved and is now on the Governor’s desk. The Senate passed the budget 36-0 and the House passed it 142-8. Community Colleges The Community Colleges are facing a $6 million […]

Spending Cap Concerns for the State Budget

Connecticut Voices for Children issued a policy brief on the state’s spending cap. “The spending cap has become a central issue in the current bipartisan budget negotiations. While a spending cap can be vital for preventing runaway spending, an overly restrictive cap would limit the strategic investments necessary for long-term prosperity. Unfortunately, proposed changes to […]

“Fail the Budget” Press Conference and Protest

On Wednesday, September 27, CSU faculty, staff, and students will hold a a press conference on the recent budget proposal that guts public higher education funding. The proposal would cut approximately $93 million from CSCU and eliminate the Robert Willis Scholarship Fund. Both of these actions could make the cost of higher education too great for […]

State Budget Hurts Colleges & Collective Bargaining; Governor Pledges to Veto

The budget passed by the House and Senate over the weekend hurts our students and our colleges. In President Ojakian’s words, “Early Saturday morning the Connecticut General Assembly passed a budget that intends to cut approximately $93M from the CSCU system over the next two years. Funding for developmental education is completely eliminated, while the Roberta […]

State Budget

It’s mid-September and Connecticut is still without a state budget agreement. However, we may see a budget deal today. The Finance Committee is scheduled to meet at 11:30 am, followed by a caucus, to consider revenue options. According to many news outlets, they are considering tax hikes on hospitals, cigarettes and tobacco products, and possibly cell phones […]

Governor’s Budget Address

Wednesday, the Governor presented his proposed FY 2018-19 state budget. It contains a 4% cut to the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU). It assumes labor savings totaling $700 million in FY 2018 and $867.6 million in FY 2019. (These are expected savings in healthcare and pension benefits that HAVE NOT been agreed to by […]

Will Cuts Affect the Community Colleges?

Last week, CSCU was asked to submit to the Office of Policy & Management reduction options for a 10% cut, which painted a very bleak picture for the Community Colleges. You can read all about it in the following article: A 10 percent cut to state colleges would be “devastating” (CT Mirror). Please keep in mind that […]