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Governor’s Budget Strong for Higher Ed and the UW

Governor Gregoire released her nearly $30 billion budget Tuesday December 19, and it is very strong for higher education and particularly the University of Washington. It is clearly the best budget for the UW to emerge from the Governor’s Office in a decade and if enacted would be an exceptional start to closing the per student funding gap between us and our peer universities.

At yesterday’s press conference in Olympia, the Governor repeatedly referred to her spending plan as an “Education Budget” and a close look at the details easily backs up that claim.  There are sizeable new investments in early learning, K-12 and higher education in the operating budget and almost $2 billion in new capital spending including more than $1 billion for higher education construction projects. 

A two page summary of the Governor’s Budget proposal for the UW can be found in the Spotlight section of the State Relations home page.

If you want more detail on her overall spending plan, the Governor’s Budget Highlights are a good place to delve into the details.