University System of Georgia tells appropriations subcommittee formula funding drives FY27 request
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Summary
Chancellor Purdue told the House appropriations subcommittee that record enrollment and rising operational costs drive the FY27 teaching-formula request; he urged a whole-budget review, noting M&O utility support in the formula lags estimated actual costs.
Chancellor Purdue of the University System of Georgia told the House appropriations subcommittee that the FY27 request is primarily driven by formula funding tied to teaching and enrollment growth and that the system recorded "over 382,000 students" this fall.
Purdue said the teaching program portion of the request appears on the committee packet and cited a governor's recommendation for roughly $263,441,000 for the teaching/formula line, with some House adjustments. He said the system is concentrating on retention and degree completion as metrics of success rather than enrollment alone.
Purdue traced the formula's origin to a series of policy actions in the early 1980s and described it as an appropriation formula administered to the Board of Regents. He warned against moving piecemeal on formula components and urged the committee to "look at it in its entirety" before changing elements that could have cross-cutting effects on allocations to campuses.
On maintenance-and-operations (M&O), Purdue told members the formula's utility factor has not been updated since 2009. He said USG calculates approximate actual M&O costs at about "$15 per square foot" systemwide while the formula provides $8.28 per square foot (about $6.15 for regular operations plus $2.13 for utilities). He and staff offered to provide per-FTE and institution-level data to help identify smaller institutions that face disproportionate utility burdens.
Committee members pressed on options for addressing backlogged M&O needs and whether additional one-time money would be spent on capital repairs, faculty compensation or other priorities. Purdue said the system can provide detailed institution-level numbers and cautioned that while additional funds can help, more money is not always the only answer to structural budget issues.
The chancellor concluded by offering to brief the subcommittee during the interim on formula mechanics and returns on investment from state funding.
