The leaders of the Vermont State Colleges System say the system is underfunded, which is detrimental to the state’s efforts to grow the workforce and encourage young people to remain in Vermont. This week system leaders called on the governor and state legislature to increase funding to the system by $5 million per year over the next five years to bring the system in line with neighboring New England states. In a conversation with WAMC North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley, System President Joyce Judy explains that on average New England public colleges and universities receive 30 percent of their budget revenue from the state whereas in Vermont they receive 17 percent.
“What that means is that Vermonters have to pay more for their education in Vermont or they need to leave to leave the state and go elsewhere to further their education. And as we all know what happens is is that when students go out of state to get their education they tend to stay out of state. And so you know I believe that this is part of Vermont’s economic um should be Vermont’s long term economic strategy.”
The Vermont State Colleges System is composed of Castleton University, the Community College of Vermont, Northern Vermont University and Vermont Technical College.
