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Vermont State Colleges present $21.5M capital request, update on Green Hall and Johnson heating plant
Summary
Chancellor Beth Mauck and CFO Sharon Scott told the committee the Vermont State Colleges request $21.5 million for the next biennium to address deferred maintenance and three capital projects, reported enrollment and workforce impacts, and described completed and federal-funded projects for nursing and dental hygiene.
Chancellor Beth Mauck and Chief Financial and Operating Officer Sharon Scott appeared before the House Corrections & Institutions Committee to present the Vermont State Colleges (VSC) system overview and a biennial capital request.
Mauck told the committee the system serves about 10,000 degree-seeking students and 7,000 workforce-training students and that 80% of those students are Vermonters. "Our future will look different from our past," Mauck said, describing an emphasis on online and hybrid offerings, apprenticeship expansion and housing that meets older and nontraditional students' needs.
Scott provided details of the VSC capital request and recent projects. The system is asking for $21,500,000 for three projects in the next biennium: major maintenance; replacement or upgrades to Jeffords Hall at Castleton (estimated $5,600,000 total, with about $923,000 for planning and design in year one); and replacement of the central campus heating plant at Johnson (estimated $8,000,000 with $1,600,000 allocated for planning and design in year one). Scott called the Johnson plant "fragile" and said parts are increasingly difficult to source.
Scott updated the committee on Green Hall at Randolph, a technical-education project whose cost grew by about $2,000,000 above the original estimate; the system redirected funds and is contributing an additional $600,000 of institutional funds. She also said two health-education projects received congressionally designated funding — $6,300,000 for nursing education and $5,900,000 for dental hygiene — on a reimbursable basis.
On occupancy and enrollment, Scott said approximately 200 students currently live in dormitories at the Johnson campus, representing about 40% of dorm capacity. Mauck noted VSU's first-year enrollment rose 14% last year and the system graduated about 2,000 students last year.
The governor's recommendation, Scott said, includes $3,000,000 for major maintenance and $5,000,000 for the Johnson heating plant (totaling $8,000,000 recommended). Scott said the system will continue to pursue alternative funding sources and has self-funded roughly $2.5 million in deferred maintenance this past year.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about timing, planning versus construction funding, and occupancy rates; staff answered that the Johnson planning funds in FY26 are for planning, design and consultant work. The presenters did not request immediate action from the committee at this hearing but asked for consideration in the capital process.
