The State Fair Community College Board of Trustees began discussions about the upcoming Fiscal Year 2018 budget during Tuesday morning’s work session.
The college is budgeting for a 2 percent decline in student enrollment, based on credit hours not head-count, which equates to reducing revenues by about $307,000, Gary Sorrell, vice president for Finance and Administration, told the board.
The preliminary budget includes a $2 per credit hour increase for in-district students, and a $7 per credit hour increase for Missouri residents, out-of-state and international students.
“State Fair Community College prides itself on being low-cost. We believe that it’s very important to remain affordable for our students and I believe this keeps us low-cost and affordable,” SFCC President Joanna Anderson told the board. “However, when we’re challenged to make up a deficit, starting reduction in our funding of $618,000 (in state cuts), that’s a challenge.”
The proposal also includes making the out-of-state and international rate the same, as right now the international rate is higher. Brent Bates, vice president of education and student support services, said this request is coming from the athletics and admissions departments to help with recruitment.
“This would allow us to be more competitive in international enrollment,” Anderson said. “It specifically came out because of athletes wanting to come out and play their sport, mainly soccer … and when they were given the total cost, they said it was a little high.”
The dual-credit rate is also proposed to increase by $3, which Anderson said the college has not raised that rate in several years but will still leave SFCC in line or lower than other institutions.
Departments were asked to cut costs wherever they could, other than personnel, looking at the previous year’s budget to see where money wasn’t fully spent to help cover the revenue decline. There is about $831,000 in program/budget savings, but about $802,000 in added program costs, mostly due to IT needs to update the network and fiber optic lines.
Board member Ron Wineinger said it seems programs are being “penalized” when only a minimal tuition increase is being requested. He and other board members asked staff to look at an additional $1 increase in credit hour costs to bring back to the next board meeting.
During the meeting, the board heard from Darci McFail, director of Institutional Accreditation and Effectiveness, who presented the results of the November 2016 Student Satisfaction Inventory. Overall, McFail said the SSI results were positive and the school saw gains in several positive areas compared to the 2014 SSI.
During the meeting the board also:
• Approved the hiring of Christopher Hines as the director of the Small Business and Technology Development Center and Douglas Barklage as the criminal justice instructor for CTC, which will be a new CTC program.
• Accepted the resignations of LearningForce Coordinator Renee Henderson, Industrial Technology Instructor Darrell Everett, Industrial Electric Maintenance Instructor Allen Sims, Men’s and Women’s Head Soccer Coach Eddie Horn and English Instructor Patricia Dump.
• Approved the full-time faculty, exempt and administrative positions for FY18. There were no changes.
• Approved an academic calendar change. Campus will open Jan. 2, 2018, and the spring 2018 semester will begin Jan. 16, a week later than previous years.
“That is a very close time crunch for financial aid and for admissions to get new students admitted and enrolled and we believe potentially that impacted our spring enrollment,” Anderson said of 2017 spring classes.
• Approved room and board rates for FY18. A double room for a semester will be $2,650, compared to $2,500 this year, and a single room for a semester will be $3,975, compared to $3,250 this year. The deposit will increase to $150, up from $100. This is partially due to an increase in dining service fees, which are included in the residence hall rates.
• Approved the dining service agreement for FY18 with Great Western Dining. This is year two of a five-year agreement and the renewal rate is a 2.3 percent increase from the current rate.
• Approved the Rave Mobile Safety Services agreement for $16,068 for a three-year agreement. This is SFCC’s first renewal with Rave, as it already contracts with the company to provide an emergency notification system. The funding source is the annual Campus Safety and Security budget.
• Approved a proposal from Trane, of Lenexa, Kansas, for $215,470 for labor, materials and equipment for humidifier replacements and installations at the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Goddard Gallery and Stauffacher. The funding source is HB19 Repair and Renovation funding from the state.
• Approved a proposal from Trane, of Lenexa, Kansas, for $90,680 for labor, materials and equipment for the replacement of the rooftop unit at the Daum Museum. This is for a high-efficiency unit that will meet the requirements for a $2,000 rebate from KCP&L. The funding source is HB19 Repair and Renovation funding from the state and the cash reserves for any excess cost required, which staff said is not expected.
• Approved HB19 Repair and Renovation projects for window replacements and floor repairs in Stauffacher, window replacement and wall covering and library courtyard repair in Yeater, and stucco repair on the Daum Museum. Costs are not to exceed the total funds available from the HB19 projects.
