Valley City State President asks House appropriations panel for $25.4 million toward McFarland Hall deferred maintenance

Valley City State University President Alan Lefebvre told the House Appropriations Education and Environment Division that the university is requesting $25,395,000 from the general fund toward a $27,300,000 McFarland Hall deferred‑maintenance project and is asking for a $4,566,883 increase in general‑fund operating support.

Why it matters: Lefebvre said McFarland Hall — the campus’s oldest building, built in 1892 — houses administrative offices, classrooms and academic divisions and requires life‑safety and deferred‑maintenance work that exceeds what the university can cover through existing tier funds. “This is not a renovation. I want to repeat, this is not a renovation,” Lefebvre said, describing the request as repair and life‑safety work rather than cosmetic upgrades.

Lefebvre opened by describing enrollment and student success metrics to frame the budget request. He told the committee VCSU had 1,854 students this spring, including about 500 students taking dual‑credit courses; the university’s average freshman class is roughly 225 full‑time, degree‑seeking students. He said 73 percent of students are from North Dakota and that the university’s retention rate increased to 71 percent this past fall, up 4 percentage points from the previous year.

Lefebvre highlighted academic strengths and partnerships as rationale for state support. He said elementary education remains the largest program with 343 students and that the school places graduates across the state: “It’s hard to find a North Dakota school that does not have at least one Valley City State graduate on its staff,” he said. He also cited a recent $5 million donation to support an athletic facility project and said the university’s endowment has increased by $15 million since 2013.

On capital financing and matching funds, Lefebvre said VCSU proposes a $1,365,000 institutional match for McFarland Hall. He described the university’s general approach to tier funding and the challenge grant program, and said smaller institutions find the 2:1 match on the state challenge grant program difficult to meet; he asked legislators to consider a 1:1 match for smaller campuses.

Lefebvre also addressed athletics and conference changes. He said VCSU will move to the Frontier Conference in 2025–26 and that the university is planning travel and scheduling strategies to limit long, costly trips to distant schools to about once every two years.

Committee members asked for numerical detail on compensation hold‑harmless levels and other budget scenarios. When Representative Hansen asked about raising the hold‑harmless rate from 96 percent, Lefebvre (assisted by a university finance officer) said moving to 100 percent would increase funding by roughly $1,104,484 versus $880,000 at 96 percent — a difference the committee cited as roughly $400,000 in the hearing.

Lefebvre summarized other items in the North Dakota University System request that VCSU supports: employee compensation increases, an inflationary budget factor, continuation of the challenge grant program, and the higher education stabilization fund. He said the campus has invested roughly $1.8 million in McFarland Hall over the past decade and that the work requested is intended to address deferred maintenance and life‑safety issues.

No formal committee action on VCSU’s requests was recorded during the presentation. The committee recessed at the close of the hearing to attend a memorial service and planned to reconvene afterward.

Lefebvre concluded by inviting committee members to visit campus and said VCSU will provide additional numeric details requested by legislators after the hearing.