Kalbert Young, 糖心Vlog官方 vice president for budget and finance and chief financial officer, shares his analysis of the upcoming 2025 Legislative session.
Aloha,
On December 16, Gov. Josh Green submitted his biennial budget request for the 2025 legislative session, which begins January 15. This request includes some of the key funding priorities from the University of Hawaiʻi’s biennium budget request approved by the 糖心Vlog官方 Board of Regents (BOR) at the November 21 BOR meeting.
糖心Vlog官方’s budget falls into two basic categories: operating and capital improvement projects (CIP). Here are some of the key highlights for both:
Operating Budget
Expanding the Hawaiʻi Promise financial aid program to our four-year campuses, has been a top legislative priority for 糖心Vlog官方 over the past several years. For the upcoming biennium budget request of the Governor, it was not included as part of the executive’s request. Hawaiʻi Promise is currently available to students with calculated financial need at the 糖心Vlog官方 Community Colleges. The program provides money to cover the direct costs of education—including tuition, fees and books and supplies—not met by other forms of financial aid. The 糖心Vlog官方 request sought approximately $12.1 million to provide aid for tuition, fees, books, and supplies to students with proven financial need at 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补, 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo, and 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu, similarly to the aid that is provided at the Community Colleges.
Another priority was to avoid student funds being necessary for debt service of certain 糖心Vlog官方 facilities. Debt service funding for bonds financing the construction of the 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 John A. Burns School of Medicine and 糖心Vlog官方 Cancer Center is included in the governor?s budget. Both facilities have historically had debt service met by the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement funds and the state tax on cigarettes, respectively. Having these funds from the state to satisfy debt service has been the approach for decades, thereby mitigating the need to utilize tuition revenues to pay for such expenses. However, as revenues from both of these sources have been declining for years, and have reached the level where debt service will exceed the revenues from these funds, the state is being asked to augment the current practice with earmarked funds to assist paying for the debt service. The Governor has included a significant funding approach as part of his budget request that supports JABSOM, and the Cancer Center.
Other priorities include permanent funding for programs like the 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补/糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu Pre-Nursing Pathway, rural RN to BS programs, additional financial aid counselors, retention coordinators and nursing instructional positions. These areas of workforce development focus in the areas of medical industry support—especially, nursing—but also for other areas such as teacher development.
The following table lists the operating budget requests by the BOR and what the governor included or did not include in the executive budget.
Operating
| Campus | Item | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board of Regents | Governor | ||||
| FY26 | FY27 | FY26 | FY27 | ||
| PERMANENT FUNDING | |||||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Make 惭ā苍辞补 Athletics subsidy permanent | $3,200,000 | $3,200,000 | $3,200,000 | $3,200,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | HIMB Positions from Act 181/23 | $246,118 | $246,118 | $246,118 | $246,118 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | K–12 Expanded Teaching Cohort from Act 141/22 | $420,556 | $375,556 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Pamantasan Council from Act 64/23 | $85,500 | $85,500 | $85,500 | $85,500 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo | Make Hilo Athletics subsidy permanent | $800,000 | $800,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo | Full Year funding for BS in Education Studies and Kahuawaiola Indigenous Teacher Education | $142,500 | $142,500 | $142,500 | $142,500 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Community College | Windward CC Mental Health Tech Certificate of Competence Program from Act 107/24 | $210,150 | $210,150 | $210,150 | $210,150 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Community College | 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College Practical Nursing Bridge Program from Act 74/23 | $330,000 | $330,000 | $330,000 | $330,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Community College | Pamantasan Council from Act 64/23 | $196,000 | $196,000 | $196,000 | $196,000 |
| HAWAIʻI PROMISE | |||||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Hawaiʻi Promise Program Expansion | $8,683,397 | $8,683,397 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo | Hawaiʻi Promise Program Expansion | $920,938 | $920,938 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu | Hawaiʻi Promise Program Expansion | $2,451,832 | $2,451,832 | ||
| STUDENT SUPPORT | |||||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Financial Aid Counselors | $904,152 | $904,152 | $199,440 | $398,880 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo | Retention Coordinator | $37,500 | $75,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo | Internship Coordinator | $37,500 | $75,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo | Student Enrollment Management | $432,500 | $640,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu | Admissions and Financial Aid | $213,600 | $213,600 | $37,650 | $75,300 |
| WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT – NURSING | |||||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补-糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu Nursing Collaboration Phase III | $447,936 | $447,936 | $447,936 | $447,936 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Online RN to BS Program | $111,984 | $111,984 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo | Increase School of Nursing cohort size | $297,500 | $595,000 | $357,500 | $475,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu | Pre-Nursing Pathway | $424,364 | $424,364 | $107,776 | $215,552 |
| WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT – OTHER | |||||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo | Administration of Justice Program Expansion | $75,000 | $150,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo | Data Science Program | $42,500 | $85,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo | Biocultural Science Program | $85,000 | $170,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu | Teacher Preparation Programs | $90,455 | $90,455 | ||
| MEDICAL FACILITIES | |||||
| JABSOM | Debt service for Kakaʻako Health & Wellness Campus | $2,725,000 | $2,725,000 | $1,108,019 | $1,533,463 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Cancer Center | Debt service and operational costs | $6,857,810 | $6,857,810 | $9,476,352 | $9,441,861 |
| OTHER REQUESTS – CORE FUNCTIONS | |||||
| JABSOM | Central Chiller Plant Operations | $63,000 | $63,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo | Groundskeepers | $101,280 | $202,560 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu | ACM Facilities and Core Services | $341,748 | $341,748 | $66,888 | $133,776 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 System | Information Security | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | ||
| OTHER | |||||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Expand Concussion Education to Middle Schools | $200,000 | $200,000 | ||
| JABSOM | Focus on cardiovascular disease and treatment | $700,000 | $700,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Convert Athletics Positions and Additional Support | $4,519,341 | $4,519,341 | $320,000 | $320,000 |
| Total | $37,895,161 | $38,733,941 | $17,031,829 | $17,952,036 | |
Capital Improvement Projects (CIP)
The CIP budget focuses on health and safety, modernization and addressing deferred maintenance across our campuses. Key highlights include $381 million for FY26 and $331 million for FY27 for modernization and deferred maintenance (Governor included $145.5 million and $114.5 million), $118 million for 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 student housing upgrades (Governor included $50 million) and $40 million requested for photovoltaic energy-saving projects (not included).
CIP
| Campus | Project Description | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board of Regents | Governor | ||||
| FY26 | FY27 | FY26 | FY27 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 System/糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | RIM Projects | $100,000,000 | $100,000,000 | $50,000,000 | $50,000,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Student Housing Services Improvements | $61,500,000 | $57,000,000 | $25,000,000 | $25,000,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Assessment and Feasibility of Hamilton Library | $4,000,000 | $4,000,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Waikīkī Aquarium Improvements | $4,000,000 | |||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Athletics Improvements | $10,000,000 | $10,000,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Holmes Hall | $9,000,000 | $9,000,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | PV Rooftop and Canopies and Various Energy Efficiency Projects | $20,000,000 | $20,000,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Mini Master Plan Phase 3 – Kuykendall Hall | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 | Admin Office and Parking Phase I and II | $9,000,000 | |||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo | RIM Projects | $29,625,000 | $22,685,000 | $15,000,000 | $15,000,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo | Puako Marine Education and Research Center, Phase I | $750,000 | |||
| 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu | RIM Projects | $6,900,000 | $5,000,000 | $6,500,000 | $4,500,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Community Colleges | Capital Renewal and Deferred Maintenance | $37,500,000 | $25,000,000 | $20,000,000 | $20,000,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Community Colleges | Minor CIP | $37,500,000 | $25,000,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Community Colleges | Kapiʻolani CC – Kauila and Kopiko Renovations for Health Sciences | $34,800,000 | |||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Community Colleges | Honolulu CC – Technology Renovations, Phase 2 | $32,000,000 | $15,000,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Community Colleges | 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College – Heona Modernization | $15,000,000 | |||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Community Colleges | 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College – Hale Modernization | $12,000,000 | |||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Community Colleges | Windward CC – Alakaʻi Building Renovation | $15,000,000 | |||
| Total | $381,025,000 | $331,235,000 | $145,500,000 | $114,500,000 | |
Next Steps
The university is grateful for the support reflected in the governor’s budget and will continue advocating for critical funding needs as the legislative session progresses. As in years past, I will provide updates throughout the legislative session as the state and university budget is amended and progresses through the Legislature. Mahalo for your time and attention.
Happy Holidays,
Kalbert Young
糖心Vlog官方 Vice President of Budget and Finance/Chief Financial Officer