THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 15, 1995 TAG: 9508150291
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Virginia's public colleges, anticipating enrollment increases well into the next century, said Monday they want more than $1.3 billion over the next two years to build and renovate facilities and buy land.
The requests, presented to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, come as a coalition of the state's most powerful business leaders has demanded that Gov. George F. Allen and the General Assembly spend more money on a higher education system it fears is in danger of becoming mediocre.
Virginia ranks 43rd in the nation in the amount it spends on higher education per student, causing four-year colleges to charge the second highest tuition and fees in the nation, behind Vermont.
The council is expected as early as next month to recommend to Allen and the Assembly which building projects should be funded. Proposals include the expansion of Old Dominion University's Norfolk campus and the creation of an extension campus in Virginia Beach.
Virginia colleges asked for nearly $800 million for the 1994-96 biennium and received only $258 million. But college officials say they hope to do better this year because they have the powerful business coalition, Virginia First, on their side.
The business group has promised to pressure legislators during this election year to spend more on higher education. All 140 seats in the House of Delegates and the state Senate are up for election this fall.
College officials say they need more and better classrooms and labs in anticipation of an enrollment increase that has just begun.
Virginia's 15 public, four-year colleges, which have enrollments of about 165,000 now, expect to have about 225,000 students by 2008, according to state projections. The state's 24 community colleges expect enrollments to increase from 130,000 to about 145,000 by 2008.
But a few council members questioned Monday whether colleges need the new space.
``Our studies show colleges are not using all of their space,'' said council member Alan I. Kirshner. ``I have a problem with this if we've got underused classrooms at a university and for them to come in and say, `We need a whole new building for a new school.'''
Donald J. Finley, the council's associate director for finance and facilities, said many colleges have enough space, but they need money for renovations.
Still, Kirshner said, ``I think we've got to take a harder look at this. The general fund doesn't have all this money.''
Of the $1.3 billion the colleges want, $899 million would be taxpayers' dollars from the general fund, and $438 million would be from the nongeneral fund - meaning that colleges would borrow money to pay for building projects, then raise student fees and use private donations to repay the loans. by CNB