Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney McPhee was ready to do a dance Monday.

After 12 years on a waiting list for a new science building, he learned Monday that Gov. Bill Haslam proposed to fully fund the $126.7 million project as part of $335 million in higher education facility upgrades.

“As communities like the Middle Tennessee area strive for high-tech jobs and try to attract business and industry, particularly in the life sciences area, a facility like this will go a long way for us attracting students,” McPhee said of the 250,000-square-foot building, likely to take 18 to 24 months to complete. “It was always a negative feedback when we were competing for high-ability students and they came to visit the campus.”

The current science buildings on campus were built in 1932 and 1967.

While public school districts and higher education institutions may see program cuts, overall both departments are expected to see increases in state spending in fiscal 2012-13.

Haslam’s budget calls for $5.3 billion in K-12 education, a $116 million increase over the current year. Half of that increase would fund a 2.5 percent pay raise for teachers.

Some K-12 savings, however, would come from a $2.1 million reduction in standardized test expenses and a $1 million cut in early intervention, a program to diagnose learning obstacles in younger students.

The governor would spend $3.84 billion on higher education for the coming year. Institutions would see about a $6 million increase in funding for their programs. For the first time, that money will be distributed based on student graduation and retention outcomes, Tennessee Higher Education Commission Executive Director Rich Rhoda said.