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State Appropriations Rise Again in Fiscal 2007

December 19, 2006

State spending for higher education increased in almost all 50 states in fiscal 2007, according to an annual study conducted by the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University.  Total general-fund appropriations for the 2006-07 fiscal year rose by 7 percent from the previous year to $72.2 billion, continuing to rebound after the economic downturn earlier in the decade.  Fourteen states experienced double-digit increases in their appropriations for higher education, the most since the study began tracking one-year fluctuations in such spending, in 1991.

Alabama had the highest increase in state spending—18.7 percent for the current fiscal year.  Also at the top of the list, Virginia and Louisiana will benefit from appropriation increases of 16.4 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively. Only two states, New Jersey and Montana, cut spending rates for the year.  State spending specifically in the Southeast region had the most dramatic growth, rising 10.5 percent over all. 

Additional data tables are available on the Grapevine Web site.  For additional resources on state economics and finance in higher education, visit the NACUBO research Web pages.