Delaware Tech outlines budget pressures, compensation request and capital gains from SB 50

The Joint Finance Committee heard detailed budget and program updates Wednesday from Delaware Technical Community College, which asked lawmakers to consider supplemental compensation funding while noting recent capital improvements and program growth.

Russell Ames, the committee analyst, said Del. Tech's FY26 base included 360 NSF positions, 793 general-funded positions and $108,037,100 in general-funded dollars; the personnel contingency allocation was $4,575,300. Ames told the committee three Del. Tech requests were not included in the governor's recommended budget: salary step increases for Plan A and D employees ($808,800); a $714,200 health fund offset tied to Tobacco Master Settlement adjustments; and a 1% compensation stabilization fund request for $1,126,100. The governor's recommended total for Del. Tech was presented as $112,612,400.

President Mark Brainard emphasized workforce and student impacts, saying Del. Tech enrolled more than 18,000 credit students last year and served more than 25,000 individuals across campus-based and community programs. He highlighted the SEED scholarship program’s two-decade record, noting a 73% reenrollment rate for the 2024 SEED cohort and pointing to the program as a primary driver of debt-free graduations for many students.

Brainard also recapped capital work completed since Senate Bill 50, saying the college has invested roughly $176 million in projects — including new Student Success Centers and an Allied Health Center of Excellence — and that about 80% of that spending went to Delaware companies. The capital work, he said, expanded clinical and laboratory space for allied health, paramedic and surgical technology programs, helping the college increase capacity in fields with high employer demand.

Committee members pressed Del. Tech officials on the compensation stabilization request and on differences between Del. Tech’s pay schedule and K–12 teacher pay. Ames said the Del. Tech request was intended to help maintain faculty competitiveness with the 19 local school districts and to support recruitment and retention of nonfaculty employees; he deferred to OMB on why the items were not included in the governor's recommended budget.

Members also asked for more detail on enrollment in newly retooled energy and workforce certifications and on broader pathway participation; Brainard said 17 of 19 districts participate in dual enrollment and described ongoing efforts to track short-term credential enrollments.

The committee did not take formal action on Del. Tech’s requests on Wednesday. Brainard asked the committee for continued support for capital and operating priorities, including full funding for nursing positions already funded through the health fund and a bond-bill priority for deferred maintenance on learning commons projects.