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Universities and colleges seek $28M-per-year bridge for prior COLAs; system says funding preserves positions
Summary
NSHE officials told the Senate Finance Committee June 1 that AB568 would appropriate roughly $28 million per year to cover previously granted cost-of-living adjustments and prevent staff cuts and service reductions across the state’s public higher-education institutions.
The Senate Finance Committee heard Assembly Bill 568 June 1, an appropriation request for the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) to fund cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) awarded during prior budget cycles. NSHE representatives said the appropriation would preserve academic programs and avoid permanent staffing cuts.
Patricia Charlton, appearing for NSHE, said the request was originally in the governor’s recommended budget and was presented as a one-shot appropriation to bridge ongoing expenses. Charlton told the committee the funding "is vital to our institutions to support student success and institutional stability" and stressed the request is intended to preserve quality and access rather than change policy. Committee members asked whether the appropriation equated to roughly $28 million per year; Charlton confirmed that figure.
Campus leaders quantified the operational effect. Andrew Klinger of the University of Nevada, Reno said the money would allow UNR to retain 85 positions, in addition to about 150 positions currently held vacant. Mindy Elliott of Truckee Meadows Community College said the appropriation would save six positions at that campus. Kent Ervin of the Nevada Faculty Alliance said without the appropriation, institutions were moving to raise student fees and leave vacancies; he cautioned that section 13.5’s expectation that NSHE find new revenue beyond the 25–27 biennium could result in student-fee increases.
UNLV president Chris Heavey said the appropriation would allow the university to continue serving increased enrollment and avoid reallocating growth-related funding to cover COLAs. College of Southern Nevada vice president Clarissa Coda called the funding critical for faculty and staff.
No opposition testimony was recorded at the hearing. NSHE and faculty groups emphasized the appropriation’s role as a bridge: several speakers noted institutions already are using vacancy holds, fee increases and other measures to absorb prior COLAs, and that without state support the burden would shift further to students or result in program reductions.
