COLUMBUS, Ga. – Georgia Governor Nathan Deal’s State of the State address has people invested in the future of Columbus State University excited about completing on-campus projects. CSU officials are vying for state funding at the capitol this week.

They hope to get a multi-million dollar allotment to expand the campus library and renovate other buildings. Governor Deal has allotted more than $570 million toward education in his budget for FY18. About $2 million, or .3% of that money, is slated to fund renovations for CSU’s Lenoir Hall for five years.
CSU President Chris Markwood and others are trying to get additional funding to expand the campus library. However, state Sen. Josh McKoon (R – Columbus) says traditionally, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents requests enough money to complete one project at a time.
“What I tried to explain last year when we were raising a bunch of Cain about why isn’t this money included in the budget, it was because we have always funded one project at a time,” McKoon said.
McKoon adds that funding is paid for through bonds purchased by the state. He says Lenoir Hall funding should be completed after this legislative session. The house and senate must approve Governor Deal’s budget though before funding can come to CSU.