THE DALLES - Oregon's higher education commission approved a dramatic budget request Thursday that would represent more than 40 percent increases in operating support for public universities and community colleges.

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission unanimously approved the 2017-19 biennial budget request at a meeting Thursday at Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles.

The request includes $943 million in operating support for public universities, a 42 percent increase from existing spending levels. For community colleges, the budget includes $795 million for the state's 17 two-colleges, a 44 percent increase from the current two-year cycle.

"This is a very aggressive and ambitious budget request," Ben Cannon, HECC's executive director, said before the volunteer commissioners approved the plan.

But the budget is anything but a done deal, and comes as the state faces a projected revenue shortfall of more than $1 billion due to public pension obligations and as voters mull a controversial business tax on the November ballot that has state agencies treading water as they wait for answers.

"It isn't all together clear that the governor and the Legislature will be able to afford the entirety of what we're requesting here," Cannon added.

Beyond operating support, the budget includes $200 million in grants for low-income students, $34 million to continue the tuition-free Oregon Promise program at community colleges another two years and dozens of capital construction projects at campuses across the state.

Collectively, the requested budget totals more than $3 billion in operating support, programmatic funding, state bonds and federally-backed initiatives.

For public universities, the increase comes after the Legislature approved $665 million in operating support in 2015, a move that was celebrated as a significant step forward for higher education after years of steep declines.

But as the commission forwarded its recommendation to Governor Kate Brown for her consideration ahead of next year's Legislative session, university leaders cautioned Thursday that the proposed increase - even if it gets approved - still won't make up for the years of state disinvestment.

The seven public universities also must budget for pension obligations, medical plan costs, wage increases associated with minimum wage and overtime law reforms and other federal compliance costs.

Hans Bernard, the University of Oregon's associate vice president for state and community affairs, said while the $943 million number seems "exciting and large" and the state has made investments in the past two years, it's not enough. "We are working to correct 20 years of disinvestment in higher education," Bernard said, "and it's unrealistic that happens in one biennium."

Bernard said all those cost drivers mean universities will need a minimum of $100 million increases in two-year funding from the start going forward keep tuition increases below five percent.

But, he added, the proposed budget would allow schools to continue to make up ground and provide completion grants to students who are on the verge of graduating but can't take out more financial aid, along with other programs designed to help students finish their degrees.

Frank Toda, Columbia Gorge Community College's president for the past 15 years, said his school has faced fiscal challenges for a long time. "We went through a rough time when we thought we might have to close facilities," Toda told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The proposal for community colleges would make the school, one of the smallest in the state, whole. Toda noted that the proposed $244 million funding increase for community colleges over the current biennium is significant for his school.

"For a small college like us," Toda said, "it would essentially balance our budget."

State departments must submit their budget requests to the governor by Sept 1. She will release her budget plan after the November election.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen