$901 million requested to get Oklahoma higher ed back where it was two years ago

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education voted Thursday to request $901.9 million in state appropriations for the next fiscal year, an increase of $128.3 million from the current funding level.

The request includes money to restore faculty and scholarships lost to recent budget cuts and to fully fund concurrent enrollment of high school students.

“It’s expensive to run an educational system, but we can’t look at it just as an expense,” said Chairman Ronald White of Oklahoma City. “We have to look at it as an investment, because it is the real economic engine of the state.”

The request outlines the budget needs of Oklahoma’s 25 public colleges and universities. The increase amounts to 16.6 percent, the same percentage cut from the higher education budget two years ago.

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