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Valley City State asks for formula stability and seeks funding for McFarland Hall repairs
Summary
Valley City State University told appropriators it plans to rely on minimum formula payments for the coming biennium, asked for a 2% inflation adjustment, and requested state funds to address major deferred maintenance at historic McFarland Hall.
Valley City State University President Alan Lefebvre asked the Appropriations — Education and Environment Division to include VCSU’s budget priorities in the state budget, emphasizing formula stability, a 2 percent inflationary adjustment and a multi-year deferred‑maintenance project for McFarland Hall.
“We are asking for the minimum amounts payable of 96%,” Lefebvre said, adding that VCSU planned to manage operations at that level and expected its enrollment-driven funding to improve in the next biennium. He said the university had planned conservatively and made operational cuts to match the 96% assumption.
Lefebvre and VCSU officials described a deferred‑maintenance package focused on McFarland Hall, the campus’s oldest building. The university provided a project overview that included roof replacement, window replacement (more than 250 windows), tuckpointing, mechanical updates including conversion from steam to hot water, elevator replacement and fire-escape work. VCSU estimated the McFarland Hall program would address roughly $22,000,000 of the campus’s deferred maintenance.
VCSU also requested an inflationary adjustment and asked the committee to consider Tier and challenge-grant policies that would allow auxiliary buildings and nontraditional projects to compete for matching funds. “We would ask that, as we look at some of the available uses for tier funding that the committee would consider not restricting it only to academic buildings and student housing, but also auxiliary buildings,” Lefebvre said.
On other items, Lefebvre reported roughly 25% of VCSU credit hours are delivered online and said the campus continued to monitor enrollment growth that has produced gains in recent years. The university noted prior legislative investments — including a recent $32,000,000 arts center — and characterized the McFarland Hall request as targeted deferred maintenance rather than a full building overhaul.
Ending: VCSU left the committee with a written project cost breakdown and asked appropriators to consider 96% formula payments, a 2% inflation factor and funding to address McFarland Hall’s deferred maintenance.
