FOR MORE INFORMATION: Winnie Stufflebam, 636-922-8276

May 29, 2007

COMMUNITY COLLEGE APPROVES BUDGET FOR 2007-08

   The St. Charles Community College (SCC) Board of Trustees on Wednesday, May 23, approved an operating budget of $31,980,000 for fiscal year 2007-08. The new fiscal year starts July 1.

    The 2007-08 budget reflects a projected increase of about 5 percent over the current year including new funding from state appropriations, from a phased-in student tuition increase, and from expected growth in local assessed property valuation. The current year’s starting budget was $30,500,000.

    Projected expenditures include funding for additional staff and faculty positions; new capital equipment and technology upgrades (including matching funds for federal grants); increases in employee health insurance premiums and state retirement programs; increases in utility costs and property/casualty insurance premiums to cover the opening of three new buildings; and a 5 percent overall salary adjustment for faculty and staff.

    The state appropriation – one of the college’s main revenue sources – includes a 4.5 percent increase approved by the Legislature for most public higher education institutions plus an additional 3.12 percent equity increase for St. Charles Community College. In total, the projected 2007-08 core state funding increase for SCC is 7.62 percent over 2006-07.  The college is encouraged by the state funding increase for the coming year, said Bill Berry, vice president for administrative services. Even with the increase, however, the 2007-08 appropriations for all state higher education as a whole will still be about 5 percent below the 2001 funding level due to several previous years of state budget cuts, Berry said.

    The 2007-08 revenue and expenditure projections for SCC were developed through a planning process to meet student needs and prepare for the future, Berry said. Personnel expenditures will include six new full-time faculty; several instructional, student services, and housekeeping support positions; and five new information technology positions.

   The three primary revenue sources for the college include state appropriations, tuition, and local property taxes.  At a glance, the following are projected revenues for 2007-08:

• State appropriations, $7,685,975.  Reflects a 7.62 percent increase over the current year.
• Student tuition, $11,630,000.  This revenue projection takes into account a $4-per-credit-hour tuition increase that goes into effect in summer 2007 as well as a small projected growth in credit hour enrollment. The increase is the final of a three-year, Board-approved series of tuition adjustments.
• Local tax revenue, $11,985,000.  Reflects a conservative estimate of 3 percent growth in assessed property valuation in the college district, which would yield about $310,000 in new operational revenue. The final assessed value figures will not be available from the county for several weeks, Berry said. He added that any potential 2007-08 decrease in the college’s local tax levy resulting from the Hancock Amendment will not be known until August or September when the state auditor certifies changes in assessed valuation. Currently, the college’s total local levy is just under 22 cents per $100 of assessed valuation -- 17.9 cents in the operating levy and 4 cents in the debt retirement levy.
• Vocational grants and contracts, $155,000.
• Investment earnings, $265,000.
• Other miscellaneous revenues, $259,025.

     The 2006-07 budget is balanced, Berry said, and the college has sufficient reserves going into the new fiscal year.

    SCC serves nearly 10,000 students each year in its credit classes, with more than 35,000 additional enrollments in various non-credit, continuing education programs and activities. The three new buildings in the most recent campus expansion have been in operation almost a year, and students appreciate the new classrooms, art studios, learning center, bookstore, and food services spaces, college officials said. Various renovations are under way in some of the older buildings to further enhance services for students and keep up with changing technology.

    Summer credit classes will begin on June 4. Enrollment for fall classes is now under way, with fall semester classes to start on Aug. 18.

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Last Updated: 5/28/07