WSAC: higher education avoided deeper cuts, but budget shifts and aid reductions pose future risks

Joel Anderson, WSAC associate director of legislative and external affairs, told the council that higher education "avoided significant cuts" in the 2026 supplemental operating budget but cautioned that the relief relied on one‑time moves. "The legislature chose to shift approximately $240,000,000 from our state's capital budget to the state's operating budget to backfill general operating expenditures for universities," Anderson said, describing that as a temporary measure for FY27.

Anderson and council members noted several concrete impacts: reduced funding for the running start program that will limit how many courses students can take over the next two academic years, elimination of leftover funding for a planned state student loan program, and cuts to community college centers of excellence and institutional operating funds. He said Senate Bill 59 63 — WSAC‑sponsored legislation to guarantee the maximum Washington College Grant for students eligible under Passport to Careers — passed this year, but other WSAC requests and regional partnership funds did not survive final budget negotiations.

Council members pressed staff on equity effects and student aid rollbacks. Terry Stadichcuan (S11) highlighted that roughly 7,000 students are mid‑program and will see awards reduced by about a third under current enacted funding levels, a change Anderson tied to implementation and forecasting choices. Members urged WSAC to continue refining cost forecasts and to provide more granular breakdowns of where $80 million in aid reductions fall by median family income, as requested during the meeting.

Anderson said staff will prepare stakeholder briefings and return with more detailed tables and anticipated implications for enrollment and institutional operations.