State fiscal support for higher education has met sluggish growth recently, a trend that has community college leaders working to meet student needs despite a shrinking resource pool. According to an annual report released in January by Grapevine, state financial aid for higher education increased just 1.6 percent between the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years. The lackluster upturn in funding is a nationwide issue, as a third of states decreased their higher education appropriations while another dozen increased their dollars allotted only slightly. Although some states are impacted more than others, two-year institutions across the country are feeling the bite of lost funding, leading to painful reductions in programming and staff.