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Board of Regents committee approves FY26 operating budget distribution, holds formula funding until FY27
Summary
The Board’s finance committee approved the operating budget distribution for fiscal year 2025–26 after state appropriations left higher education broadly stable. Regents and staff said major formula changes were delayed until fiscal year 2027 and noted supplemental one‑time funds and targeted increases to scholarship programs.
The Board of Regents’ finance committee voted to approve the operating budget distribution for fiscal year 2025–26 after the state legislature enacted the FY26 appropriations in HB 1.
Board staff told the committee that the state’s fiscal actions left higher education funding generally stable, including one‑time supplemental state funds. Bentley Smith, a senior staff member who led the presentation, said the board received about $25 million in one‑time funds for the current year and an additional roughly $3.5 million for the next year, alongside a net $7 million increase in state general fund for FY26.
Committee members emphasized three points: the budget preserves TOPS scholarship funding in the current year, the new legislative language delays implementation of a revised funding formula, and deferred maintenance funding was allocated across systems. “We did ask for a $142 million request for FY26,” Smith said. “What we received and the stability of the budget is a win,” she added.
Commissioner Reed, who joined the discussion, reminded members that while the appropriation holds TOPS funding and line‑item support for foster scholar and other scholarship programs, the legislature continues to favor individual institutional line items over enterprise‑wide formula funding. Smith said the board did not receive new funding to run a new formula and that implementation of any revised formula would not occur until fiscal year 2027.
Regents asked staff about deferred maintenance and emergency repair authority. Smith and committee members said HB 2 includes deferred maintenance appropriations and that institutions can request adjustments through the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget when emergency needs arise. The committee also noted a separate change: a $10 million statewide adjustment to personal services in HB 1 that state agencies must implement; staff said the division of administration will determine how that affects institutions.
The committee moved and approved the operating budget distribution by voice vote. Members present indicated no formal roll call tally was recorded in the transcript of the committee meeting.
