The College of William and Mary is safe from further budget reductions — for now.
In an e-mail sent to the College community Monday, College President Taylor Reveley announced that the budget adopted by the Virginia General Assembly Sunday did not go any further than the previously imposed 32 percent funding reduction.
“Since much additional damage had been proposed during the budget negotiations (for instance, employee furloughs in each year of the upcoming biennium, retirement contributions by current employees, and a levy on student fees paid for auxiliary services), the budget is much better for higher education than it might have been,” Reveley said in an e-mail.
While the approved budget does not cut the College’s state funding, it does mandate a one-day furlough for all College employees and grant a 3 percent bonus to state employees, 70 percent of which may have to come from the College’s financial reserves.
Reveley said that the budget was mostly good news for the College, but additional challenges could arise.
“The Governor may propose amendments to the General Assembly’s budget,” Reveley said. “There are not likely to be many, since the Governor made his views known during the legislative process. The final act will come in April, when the General Assembly reconvenes to consider the Governor’s recommendations.”