Kentucky higher‑education leaders ask lawmakers for more base funding, asset preservation and student supports as enrollments slip

Aaron Thompson, president of the Council on Postsecondary Education, told a Kentucky legislative committee that the state needs to increase base funding for public campuses and continue asset‑preservation investments to keep buildings and systems functional.

Thompson said Kentucky has made measurable gains toward its 60 by 30 attainment goal but warned that enrollment trends and affordability problems remain a threat to the state’s workforce pipeline and economy. “Post secondary education is the best return on investment you can get,” Thompson said.

Thompson and Travis Powell, senior vice president at the Council on Postsecondary Education, described several areas where the council plans to seek new or continued support from the legislature: higher base appropriations to stabilize campus operating budgets, continued additions to the performance‑funding pool, expanded asset preservation funding for deferred maintenance and modest general‑fund support for CPE programs such…