State Board set to approve federal and state funding to colleges
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges at its June 27 regular business meeting is set to approve federal awards and allocations for Workforce and Student Support as well as Basic Education for Adults, and state awards and allocations for Corrections Education.
The Workforce Education state and federal funding targets programs supporting entry-level training, skills upgrade or retraining for the state's workforce. Basic Education for Adults funding supports adult and family literacy programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Corrections Education funding comes through an interagency agreement with the Department of Corrections and supports high school completion, certificates and degrees.
Board members are also slated to discuss the college system's priorities that will be forwarded to the governor's office and Legislature as part of the 2025-27 operating budget process. Those priorities, recommended by college presidents and State Board staff following a set of surveys and outreach with stakeholders, are:
- Competitive compensation, increasing salaries for all employee groups, fully supported by the state, to help recruit and retain faculty and staff in several areas.
- Increase general purpose funding to help colleges meet demand as the cost of materials, supplies and operation rises.
- Expand Job Skills Program capacity to help colleges expand their service to employers working to train their employees in needed areas.
The meeting agenda and background materials are posted on the State Board website. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held on Zoom and streamed on TVW.
