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KCTCS outlines $90 million HB 6 projects: Somerset, Louisville high‑rise replacement, Glasgow allied‑health expansion
Summary
KCTCS told a legislative budget subcommittee it plans to use $90 million appropriated in House Bill 6 for three capital investments tied to workforce needs and to advance systemwide efficiency recommendations from a strategic review.
Dr. Ryan Quarles, president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), told the House budget review subcommittee that $90 million appropriated in House Bill 6 is designated for KCTCS’s efficient operations and innovation plan tied to a system strategic review.
Quarles said the system has identified three capital projects for that funding: a workforce technology building at Somerset Community College for diesel and automotive technology, welding, HVAC, computer-aided design and additive manufacturing; replacement of a 12‑story Louisville building whose interior is no longer code- or ADA-compliant; and a relocated and expanded allied‑health facility at Southcentral’s Glasgow campus to bolster rural hospital staffing and expand nursing and allied-health programs.
"This $90,000,000 is referred to as an efficient operations and innovation plan," Quarles said. He told the committee the funds have already been appropriated and urged timely construction to avoid cost escalation.
Nut graf: KCTCS said the capital projects align facilities to workforce shortages and will house programs that respond to employer demand; the system also presented related efficiency measures and policy reforms intended to streamline operations.
Quarles described related system actions: a systemwide space‑utilization review (SGR), the removal of roughly 400 underused credentials to focus program offerings, sale of eight buildings with four additional dispositions in progress, and a first systemwide employee reclassification in 20 years. He said KCTCS completed state audit observations and is implementing recommendations from a forensic audit funded in part by the legislature.
Quarles also outlined four "buckets" of reform in a document he called STR 179: KRS changes, regulatory reform, policy reform (he said about 80% of KCTCS policies are out of date), and broader higher‑education issues such as the future of dual credit and the key scholarship. He offered printed copies of the SGR report to committee members.
Ending: Quarles concluded by offering to answer questions and by urging the committee to move projects forward promptly to limit cost increases; the subcommittee did not take formal votes during the meeting.
