RICHMOND — Gov. Glenn Youngkin paused over $600 million in funding requests for 10 renovation and expansion projects at Virginia’s higher education institutions to prepare for possible statewide repercussions stemming from uncertainty about the country’s economic future. As President Donald Trump’s administration continues slashing federal spending and programs and overhauling global trade policies, Youngkin and lawmakers are keeping a keen eye on the state’s purse strings. On May 2, the governor announced that Virginia will retain $900.4 million from its budget, leaving a projected $3.2 billion surplus as a cushion. Of the $900 million removed from the state spending plan, $626 million would have been allocated to cover 10 one-time capital projects at Virginia’s colleges and universities. “While the 10 new projects included in the 2025 Higher Education Capital Outlay Pool are each worthy investments, it would not be financially prudent for me to advance these projects to the construction phase with the current risks to our general fund forecast,” Youngkin wrote in his veto letter. “As chief executive officer of the commonwealth, the conservative course of action is to delay appropriation for these projects.” The affected schools include Virginia State University, which plans to renovate Virginia Hall because of multiple infrastructure issues, and Virginia Commonwealth University, which plans to acquire the Altria research building to expand its lab space. “The project remains of critical importance and we are hopeful it will be restored at the next opportunity,” a VCU spokesperson said in a statement to the Mercury. The governor said he plans to reintroduce the projects in his December budget proposal “should the revenues required to support their construction continue to be available.” In his veto letter, Youngkin said the commonwealth has spent 17%, or $551 million, of its $3.2 billion in authorized capital outlay projects at Virginia’s public institutions of higher education. The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) is also among the institutions that now must wait for their projects to proceed. VCCS plans to renovate Amherst and Campbell Halls at Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) in Lynchburg, which are the core classroom spaces for the college. Amherst Hall was built in 1968 and Campbell Hall was completed in 1974. Neither has had a significant renovation since then. Susan Pollard, a VCCS spokeswoman, said in a statement that CVCC is currently in the planning and design phase for both buildings and is using a limited amount of other available resources to continue moving forward until state funds may become available. “Virginia’s Community Colleges are positioned well in the near term to navigate what we understand is a temporary postponement to the impacted higher education capital outlay budgets,” Pollard said in a statement to the Mercury. “We understand that difficult decisions regarding the reallocation of budgets are necessary at times, and we are hopeful funding will be restored as the situation allows.”
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