Is the time right for a new UW campus? As the legislative session moves forward, the bill for the proposed UW-Everett campus is undergoing intense scrutiny from both sides of the political fence.

“What’s occurring now is a fundamental debate as to whether we need a new college or not,” said Randy Hodgins, the UW director of state relations.

After debating the tentative location of a proposed new campus, the bill for a Snohomish County branch is going to motion in a House committee hearing today before moving to the appropriations committee to determine financial ramifications.

“It’s not inevitable that it will pass, but I do think it will,” said Rep. Hans Dunshee (D-Snohomish), one of the bill’s sponsors. “There are enough opponents to cause it problems. They’re whimpering about it. … They won’t say it in public, but they whisper about it.”

One vocal opponent is Rep. Dan Kristiansen (R-Snohomish), who expressed his concerns in an editorial in Sedro-Woolley’s Courier Times.

“The UW-Bothell branch campus is only 18 miles from the proposed UW branch campus in downtown Everett,” he said. “It is operating well below its growth limits.”

Aside from proximity concerns, a primary focus of the debate is whether there is adequate funding in the capital budget for another state university campus and at what cost it will come to other institutions of higher education.

“We found that there is a need for another campus, but we told the legislature that you absolutely cannot do it at the expense of other education institutions,” said Norm Arkans, the UW’s executive director of media relations.

The state capital budget, the basic funding that would provide for such expenditures, is currently “oversubscribed,” which has raised concerns not only for four-year institutions, but also for K-12 education, Hodgins said.

“People are asking, ‘Where’s the money going to come from?’” Hodgins said. “Even the proponents of the campus agree that’s a challenge.”

Although there are vague ideas about how to raise adequate capital, Hodgins admits legislators are mostly at a loss, although an Everett location of a UW campus is not the only way to serve the educational needs of Snohomish County.

“There are certainly other models,” he said. “You could have independent colleges [or] some courses delivered by a variety of different schools.”

With the Tacoma campus at capacity, the University of Washington system is facing the same challenges presented 20 years ago, when the original proposal for additional branches materialized.

“This isn’t without precedent,” he said. “The notion of providing funding for higher education institutions has been talked about for a long, long time.”

[Reach reporter Jeff Tripoli at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]