College Board Focuses On Budget For 2009-10

By Tammy Gray-Searles
   Concerns over funding the 2009-10 academic year took center stage during the April 22 meeting of the Navajo County Community College District Governing Board.
   Board members approved a preliminary budget of $27.4 million for fiscal year 2009-10, which is 10.6 percent less than the 2008-09 budget, and heard a legislative update on the state budget.
   The preliminary budget approved by the board can be decreased before final approval, if necessary, but it cannot be increased. Northland Pioneer College Vice President for Student Services Blaine Hatch told the board that all departments were asked to reduce their budgets by 15 percent from last year, and most were able to produce a budget that did so, but there were a few exceptions.
   “Some budgets are above the target baseline, but we felt they had good rationale for not doing the 15 percent,” he said.
   Hatch noted that tuition and fee increases are expected to add an additional $500,000 to the college’s budget. The state has not yet set a budget, but deep cuts to education funds are anticipated.
   According to Hatch, the preliminary budget could change, depending on decisions made at the state, but he is hopeful that no additional budget reductions will need to be made.
   Hatch told the board that NPC is not alone in dealing with a severe budget crunch, noting that all community colleges except for Pinal have reduced costs by filling essential positions only and have frozen salaries for at least the next fiscal year. He also noted that Arizona has the second largest budget gap percentage in the country, coming in just behind Nevada.
   According to state lobbyist for community colleges Kristin Bollini, who provided the legislative update, much of the funding for education in Arizona during fiscal year 2009-10 could depend on federal stimulus funds.
   “There’s a big chunk of money in the stimulus package for education,” she explained.
   The problem, however, is that guidelines for distributing the funding are still being worked out, and no one is sure at this point exactly what guidelines will be used or how the money will be divided up.
   “The crux of the budget is understanding what’s in the stimulus package,” she said. “The governor’s office has a team of people trying to unravel it. It seems the guidelines change from day to day.”
   Bollini told the board that confusion over federal stimulus guidelines is part of the reason that the state budget has still not been completed, but she is hopeful that there will be some good information on education funding available within the next week or two.
   “As soon as we see the numbers we’ll share them so you’ll see the same thing the legislature is looking at,” she told the board. “There hasn’t been a lot of information on what’s in the budget.”
   In other action April 22, the board:
   * Approved the 2009-10 salary schedules.
   * Approved an adjustment to the fiscal year 2007-08 budget in order to make a technical correction.
   * Approved the expenditure of $156,950 for pavement replacement at the Silver Creek Campus, and awarded the contract for the work to Hatch Construction and Paving.
   * Approved program course changes as presented by staff.
   The changes adjust the classes required for particular degrees.
   * Was advised that overall enrollment at NPC is up by 2.6 percent.
   The next board meeting is scheduled at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 19, at the Holbrook NPC campus. A work session will be held at 9 a.m., prior to the regular meeting.