Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposed budget would effectively channel $887 million over the next two fiscal years combined to UConn, the state’s flagship university. That includes not only the main campus in Storrs and its satellite campuses but also the university’s health center in Farmington.
The $887 million specifically includes a $776.4 million baseline operating grant for the coming biennium. The rest involves the last of the state’s ARPA funding to give the university a “glide path” to adjust to life with no emergency federal aid after 2025.
But while UConn’s baseline grants totaled $753 million across this fiscal year and last, overall operating assistance — once temporary aid is counted — tallied almost $1.1 billion.
Representatives from UConn and the state university system told the administration they would need to retain that temporary funding and also receive more money to help them cover the big raises Lamont negotiated last spring for most state employees.
Lamont negotiated a four-year package of raises that included $3,500 in bonuses last spring and summer for about 46,000 unionized state employees. Each year includes a 2.5% general wage increase, as well as a step hike for all but the most senior workers.
Read more: Lamont to colleges: Adjust to life without federal pandemic aid