Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Report: $836M needed to catch up on state college renovations

  • Education
  • by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas
  • November 19, 2013
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

The four Connecticut State Universities and the state’s 12 community colleges need an infusion of $836 million to complete necessary renovations and eliminate a growing backlog of construction projects.

“There is a significant backlog,” said Jim Kadamus, a consultant with Guilford-based Sightlines, told members of the Board of Regents for Higher Education last week. The board hired the company to assess the system’s construction needs.

The state has spent about $123 million a year to finance construction projects at the 16-campus public college system over the last several years. But only one-third of that funding has gone to keep up existing buildings and roads; the priority has been on new construction to handle overcrowding.

“You are adding to the backlog,” Kadamus said during a 45-minute presentation to the Regents’ Finance Committee. “There is a relatively low investment [for construction] on an annual basis.”

According to the Sightlines report, college systems across the country are deferring needed construction projects. Gary Holloway, a member of the finance panel, said he’s trying to determine how the board can take action.

But with the regents system already struggling fiscally and students recently protesting tuition increases, officials from Sightlines suggest teaming up with the state to fund these projects, an idea the Malloy administration was noncommittal about Monday.

“The state university and community college systems have a balanced mix of newer and older buildings. Still, it is critical that both systems consider ways to best serve students — that means keeping up with infrastructure and technology investments,” Malloy spokeswoman Samaia Hernandez said in a statement.

“This study was conducted for planning purposes and will be considered as part of the systems’ master plans. If there’s a case for capital funding, it would have to be considered as part of the budget process.”

Malloy was the driving force last year behind the state legislature’s passing a law for the state to borrow $1.6 billion to overhaul the University of Connecticut, which is separate from the community college and CSU system.

ConnSCU’s four bachelor’s degree-granting universities — which collectively enroll the same number of full-time students as UConn — are set to receive $380 million over the next four fiscal years for new construction and for renovations. The nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis reported earlier this year that the four universities have received $1.2 billion in funding for construction projects from the state over the past 30 years. The community colleges received $743.4 million during that time.

UConn has received $3.1 billion since 1996, which includes the money approved this year.

Gregory Gray, the new president of the 90,000-student Board of Regents system, said he plans to use the findings in the report to develop a systemwide plan to give to the governor and legislature by February, when the 2014 session of the General Assembly opens.

Sen. Beth Bye, co-chairwoman of the legislature’s Higher Education Committee, said a strategic approach to determining how to proceed is exactly what’s needed.

“We have to take care of our existing buildings before we build new ones, frankly,” she said of the millions of dollars slated for new construction at the Connecticut State Universities.

Bye said that with construction costs often falling on students through increased tuition, the history of universities’ competing to provide the best facilities should be reconsidered in order to keep down costs.

“I think that era is coming to an end,” she said. “We need a strategic focus.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
In-person classes to resume at CT state colleges in the fall
by Adria Watson

In-person classes will resume at state colleges this fall, with mask-wearing and social-distancing requirements still in effect, officials said Monday. The announcement came at Gateway […]

New Haven’s school challenge: How to spend all that federal money
by Thomas Breen | New Haven Independent

How does it spend $136 million in federal pandemic relief without getting hooked on the short-term dough?

Auditors: UConn Hartford campus construction cost $30M more than budgeted
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Construction and renovations combined originally were priced at $87 million. Final cost: $116.7 million.

J&J vaccine ‘pause’ complicates campus clinics, but the big question remains: Should colleges require vaccinations?
by Adria Watson

The COVID vaccines are authorized for "emergency use," making the legality of mandates murky

Cardona taps a top Lamont staffer to join him at the U.S. Department of Education
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

Nick Simmons was director of strategic initiatives in Lamont's office for nearly two years.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Playing politics with people’s healthcare is always wrong
by Jody Barr, Jan Hochadel, Jeff Leake, Dave Glidden, Carl Chism and Mike Holmes

For the past decade, towns, school boards and cities throughout the state have been able to provide their employees high-quality healthcare through the Connecticut Partnership […]

Opinion A pandemic lesson for CSCU leaders: affordable, accessible childcare is critical
by Brandy Sellitto

If there can be anything good that has come from the last year and the horrors of living through this pandemic, perhaps it is the renewed focus on the need for affordable and accessible childcare. As a teen mom, I know first-hand the need for access to safe, reliable, and developmentally appropriate childcare at an affordable price.

Opinion Children’s mental health needs continue to soar: The second pandemic lawmakers must address
by Gabriella Izzo

“She was my happy kid,” a parent told me when I cared for her child who was experiencing a mental health crisis. My patient recovered medically within a few days, however, she remained in the hospital for over a week waiting for placement at a psychiatric rehabilitation facility. We must improve our mental health system and you can be a critical part of making that happen.

Opinion H.B. 6620 — A closer reading of a flawed legislative proposal
by Ann M Mulready

The Connecticut Association for Reading Research (CARR) is deeply concerned regarding H.B. 6620, An Act Concerning the Right to Read and Addressing Certain Opportunity Gaps. It is based on a concept that is seriously problematic in that it subordinates comprehension to fluency.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s […]

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is […]

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO