Lincoln University officials said Friday they’re “grateful” for the work lawmakers did in LU’s part of the state’s Higher Education budget.
Lawmakers on Wednesday approved giving LU a total of $20,670,193 for the 2018-19 business year that begins July 1 — $137,680 more than last year’s appropriation.
But the state budget’s general revenue funding in LU’s appropriation is $1,362,320 smaller — while the state is spending $1.5 million more for the state’s match to LU’s federal land grant funding.
LU officials said Friday that’s because of two key elements that are different for the upcoming fiscal year. First, the university’s land grant funding is now a separate budget line item, removing it from the institution’s core funding.
“Secondly, lawmakers have pledged an additional $600,000 to the matching funds, bringing the total land grant appropriation to approximately $4 million.”
In the statement, issued by University Relations Director Misty Young, LU thanked “every lawmaker that worked so diligently to ensure this funding was made available to Lincoln University. Today we are closer than ever to the dollar-for-dollar match and we appreciate the great strides we have made.”
Lincoln curators and administrators still must match the state funding with the school’s other income sources — including tuition and fees — to write a school-specific budget for the new business year.
That work likely will be done by mid- to late June, after new President Jerald Jones Woolfolk takes over the chief executive’s job June 1.