BELLINGHAM - Whatcom Community College is relying on tuition increases and reserve funds to balance its 2011-12 operating budget, after losing nearly $2.3 million in state funding, according to the draft budget.
The Board of Trustees will discuss adopting the budget at their meeting Wednesday, July 20.
The proposed operating budget calls for spending about $19.4 million during the 2011-12 school year, about $250,000 less than what was outlined in the current budget.
The college, which operates mostly on a combination of state funds and tuition, is budgeted to receive about $10.1 million in state funding, about $2.3 million less than was budgeted for the current school year.
During the 2010-11 school year, the Legislature reduced state funding to community and technical colleges by about 4 percent, which equaled about $772,000 for WCC.
That funding cut continues in the 2011-12 school year, plus an additional $956,000 cut. State revenue to the college is also lower due to a 3 percent pay reduction for state employees, which equals about $274,000 for WCC.
Revenue from "local funds" - which includes tuition, money from reserves, and money from the college foundation - is expected to be about $9.3 million, about $2 million more than the current school year.
Much of the increase is due to tuition, which was set by the Legislature to rise by 12 percent. The average full-time WCC student will pay about $136 more per quarter, according to the draft budget.
In all, tuition is expected to bring in about $8.75 million, including money the college receives for Running Start students.
Other revenue includes about $366,000 in reserve funds and about $93,000 from the college foundation, a nonprofit group that helps with student scholarships and other college needs.
Enrollment at the college has steadily increased the past few years, at least partly due to the economic recession, but the state doesn't provide the college with operating funds for every student. The college accepts any student who wants to attend, rather than cap enrollment.
For the current school year, the college will receive state funding to educate the equivalent of 2,457 full-time students, 585 full-time Running Start students and 150 full-time international students. The college is also budgeting for an additional 637 full-time students, bringing the estimated enrollment to more than 3,800 full-time students.
Tuition from excess students helps pay for additional staff salaries above what the state funds.
Staffing is budgeted for the equivalent of about 316 full-time positions, a reduction of about 16 full-time positions across the college. Areas with staff reductions include the business office, counseling and advising office, and the English, math and science departments.
Four full-time faculty positions are being filled in math, biology, medical assistant and accounting/business programs.
Other budget highlights include:
- State "work study" funds, which help students pay for college by working at the school, were reduced by the Legislature by about $200,000 for the 2011-12 school year. The college will spend about $97,000 to fund the most necessary positions as part-time hourly jobs.
- The Associated Students of Whatcom Community College is spending about $65,000 for student employment to replace some positions lost from work study funding, and about $18,000 to pay for officiating fees for athletics.
- Funding for the Turning Point program, which was designed to help recently widowed, divorced or displaced homemakers transition into the working world, was eliminated by the Legislature. The college will continue the program through the fall, with hopes of finding alternative funding.
- Of the college's four budget areas - instruction, educational services, institutional management and administrative services - instruction is the only area to see an expenditure increase when compared to the current school year. The increase is about $300,000.
- The massage therapy and online nursing programs will be self-supporting during the 2011-12 school year. That means students in those programs would pay more. The massage program is $155 per credit, about $50 more than other programs, and the online nursing program has tuition of $1,800 per quarter, about $700 more than what a full-time student in another program would pay.
- The college's only outstanding long-term debt, which was for the construction of Syre Student Center, is being paid off with college reserves as part of the 2011-12 budget.
The college is paying $1.5 million this year to end the debt; the annual payments of about $288,000 from the operating budget will end. By paying off the debt about six years early, the college expects to save about $250,000 in interest.
READ MORE ONLINE
To view the draft 2011-12 operating budget, go to Whatcom.ctc.edu, hover the mouse over the "About WCC" link and then click on "Governance." A link to the draft budget is below the Board of Trustees meeting agenda.
