Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College could potentially receive an estimated total of $7 million this year due to Governor Tim Walz’s 2020 capital bonding proposal.

On January 13^th, Governor Walz revealed his third part of the proposal recommending a total of $482 million to support state institutions of higher education.

“Anytime you can get the additional bonding dollars, it helps, because you don’t have to then take from general operations to do these repairs that are likely to come up either this year or in a future year because now, you’re upgrading and making improvements that will prevent things from breaking down and from larger costs,” said Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College President Dr. Faith Hensrud. “So, there’s a huge savings for our campuses as well as the entire Minnesota State systems when we can get some additional bonding funds to make some corrections to things that need improving.”

While BSU and NTC do not have a capital bonding project in this year’s proposal, both schools would benefit from the $142.5 million assets preservation funds included in Walz’s proposal. The Governor’s proposal will need to be negotiated with the House and Senate, which will have their own funding proposals.

By — Destiny Wiggins