FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s status as a pacesetter in college enrollment gains was touted by the governor and higher education leaders on Thursday as they made a pitch for more funding to continue the momentum.

Between fall 2022 and fall 2023, Kentucky was at the forefront nationally with overall higher education enrollment growth of 5.6%, Gov. Andy Beshear said, citing data from the National Student Clearinghouse. That includes gains of 5.5% in undergraduate enrollment and 4.9% in graduate enrollment.

“This means that Kentucky is one of the very first states to recover from the enrollment decreases virtually everyone saw during the pandemic,” Beshear said at his weekly news conference.

The Democratic governor said the state should build on that success. He promoted his proposed 8% increase in base funding for public universities and colleges over the next two years, part of his state budget plan that calls for massive increases in education funding — from pre-K through college.

“To grasp our potential, we have to continue to invest,” the governor said.

House Republicans are expected to unveil their own budget plan soon as lawmakers craft the next two-year state budget in coming weeks. The Senate will then put its imprint on the measure, with the final version hashed out in negotiations. Republicans have supermajorities in both legislative chambers.

Beshear and higher education leaders on Thursday stressed the link between education and economic growth. Most future jobs will require some form of education or training beyond high school, they said.

“We are the best return on investment that we have toward an economy,” said Aaron Thompson, president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

Eastern Kentucky University President David McFaddin pointed to inroads made by Kentucky schools in attracting more first-generation college students to their campuses, contributing to the broader enrollment growth. Since 2020, the size of EKU’s freshman class has grown by 30%, he said.

“What it means is that we are reaching further and deeper than we ever have before to make college an opportunity,” he said at the news conference.

Beshear framed education funding as an issue cutting across party lines. The governor, fresh off his reelection victory that raised his national profile, has proposed an 11% pay raise for teachers and all other public school employees and state-funded preschool for Kentucky 4-year-olds. His plan would increase per-pupil funding under the state’s main funding formula and would fully fund student transportation.

“We have to continue to just do the right things, that aren’t red or blue, they’re not ‘D’ or ‘R,’' he said.

Meanwhile, the governor took aim at legislation targeting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in higher education. The Kentucky bill is part of a broader campaign by GOP lawmakers in a number of states.

Asked about the issue, Beshear said he sees diversity as a societal asset and lambasted the Kentucky measure as an attempt to create a “boogeyman to rile people up” in an election year.

The bill — Senate Bill 6 — seeks to limit diversity, equity and inclusion practices and initiatives at public colleges and universities by way of “non-credit classes, seminars, workshops, trainings and orientations.” It would allow university employees and students to sue if they believe they’ve been discriminated against due to their “refusal to support or endorse any divisive concept,” The bill was introduced last week and has drawn several GOP cosponsors. Republican Sen. Mike Wilson, its lead sponsor, said DEI policies in public universities have led to attempts to “divide instead of unite people.”

“Instead of promoting intellectual dialogue, individualism, the content of one’s character and merit-based practices, DEI has driven a wedge against those of us who want to see Kentucky achieve greater things,” Wilson said in a recent news release.