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Community College System highlights workforce training, capital needs and budget treatment
Summary
Chancellor Mark Rubinstein and government-affairs director Shannon Reed told the House Finance Committee Division II that apparent increases in the Community College System’s proposed funding largely reflect moving previously approved HB 2 items into House Bill 1 and that the system will provide more detailed forecasts and departmental budget breakdowns requested by lawmakers.
Mark Rubinstein, chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire, and Shannon Reed, director of government affairs and communications, briefed the House Finance Committee Division II about their budget on Feb. 19. Reed said the apparent increase from the current biennium to the governor's proposal largely reflects moving items that were previously in HB 2 into HB 1 rather than newly added funding.
“We'd be grateful to have just held even,” Reed said, explaining that roughly $10 million in workforce, early-college and Promise-program dollars appeared to drive a top-line change but are built into House Bill 1 now rather than HB 2 as in the prior biennium.
The college system noted prioritized items that were not funded in the governor’s capital proposal, including $17 million in requests for critical maintenance, energy systems and program-specific renovations; the governor’s capital included only $700,000 for relocating a welding program to Great Bay Community College’s Pease campus.
Rubinstein and Reed reviewed program and revenue trends. They said community colleges saw a steep pandemic-era enrollment decline, significant federal ARPA-era infusions that offset lost revenue and funded investments in online delivery and training, and recent growth in noncredit workforce training programs tied to state seed investments. They reported personnel increases driven partly by grant-funded positions that grew from 2 in 2015 to 41 in 2024, primarily supporting apprenticeships and workforce programs.
Committee members asked for more detailed departmental-level budget spreadsheets, forecasted revenue estimates for the coming biennium and variance analyses explaining year-to-year changes in “other operating” revenue and expenses. The system said it will provide more detailed forecasts and department-level breakdowns as it finalizes biennial budget materials and enrollment projections.
Ending: The college system left the committee with a request for continued capital support and committed to sending additional budget detail, revenue forecasts and line-item variance explanations.
