September 16, 2014 The Honorable Jay Inslee Governor, State of Washington Dear Governor Inslee, Later this week, each of our member institutions will submit budget requests to OFM. In light of recent press reports that seem to characterize our institutional budget requests, we want to clarify our position regarding public funding for higher education in Washington. We are now at a crossroads that will determine the trajectory of our state as well as long-term opportunities for our students. Adequately funding higher education will move the state forward, grow our economy, and increase opportunities for our residents. Your efforts last year marked a critical turning point in higher education funding. The 2013-15 operating budget resulted in the first increase in funding for our institutions since 2007; during that time state funding levels dramatically declined, and class sizes, time to degree, student indebtedness, and tuition dramatically increased while nearly 2,000 faculty and staff positions supporting our academic mission were lost, resulting in an overall net budget reduction for Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions. The Office of Financial Management recently requested that our institutions model 15 percent reductions in our base budgets. We recognize your constitutional responsibility to prepare a balanced budget that assumes no new revenue. We also recognize your strong support for higher education and understand that your “Book Two” proposal will include important investments in our sector. At the same time, we must point out that a 15 percent reduction in funding would not only completely undo recent progress but would also put our state back on the path of historic state disinvestment in public higher education. It would also limit student access to our colleges and universities through reduced enrollments, increased tuition, or a combination of both and further undermine Washington’s long-term economic recovery. The institutional budget requests that we are submitting to OFM this week reflect these difficult choices. We are requesting that you build a state budget that is both fair to Washington students and their families and represents a partnership between higher education and policy makers to keep our state strong. We believe this is the time to invest in the education of our students and our state’s economic well-being— not to reduce higher education’s base budgets. Please build upon the successes of the current biennium and move the needle forward for postsecondary education in Washington. Let us know if you have any questions or if there is additional information we can provide. Respectfully, President Thomas L. (Les) Purce, COP Chair The Evergreen State College President Mary Cullinan Eastern Washington University President Elson Floyd Washington State University President James Gaudino Central Washington University President Bruce Shepard Western Washington University President Michael Young University of Washington Copy: David Schumacher, Director, Office of Financial Management Joby Shimomura, Chief of Staff, Office of the Governor Paula Moore, Senior Budget Assistant, Office of Financial Management Marcie Maxwell, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Governor