Gov. John Carney has recommended a 6.7% increase in Delaware Tech's operating budget, or just over $6 million, and opposes the 8.6% increase requested by the university.
Although the governor did not include a requirement for gradual salary increases for teachers and administrators, he supported fully funding Dell Tech's compensation stabilization plan.
Mark Brainard, president of Dell Tech, told the Joint Finance Committee that the $980,000 will help the company continue its efforts to increase and maintain pay competitiveness compared to the state's public school teachers.
“A few years ago, we were ranked 17th out of 19 schools, which has been an issue in attracting quality faculty to our programs. Now we are back in the middle. Thank you for your support,” he says.
Deltec currently ranks 12th in average salary compensation when compared to Delaware's 19 public school districts, Brainard said.
The community college also requested $2.5 million to expand its associate nursing degree program, and Carney recommended funding for half of that.
President Mark Brainerd said the expansion effort is a response to recent meetings with the Delaware Medical Association, which continues to raise concerns about the statewide nursing shortage.
“My reaction to them was, 'Why reinvent the wheel?' There's an infrastructure, there's a mechanism in place. Someone had an idea and it worked. Governor. Let's make a proposal to OMB and see if they're up for it,” Brainard said.
He explained that the proposal would add approximately 48 nursing graduates to the pipeline.
Brainard said if lawmakers approve the $1.25 million recommended by the governor, Deltec will seek support from the Workforce Investment Board to provide the other half.
