PCC Is Facing Revenue Decrease

WINTER HAVEN | Polk Community College's enrollment has been increasing, but its revenue for the coming year isn't keeping pace.

College officials unveiled the proposed 2008-09 budget Monday, one in which students face a 6 percent tuition increase and the college would have $182,670 less revenue than this year in a budget that is expected to be just more than $30 million.

If PCC's District Board of Trustees approves that budget at its meeting next Monday, in-state students would pay $74.50 per credit hour for credit courses and $58.55 for the equivalent in adult vocational courses.

For out-of-state students, tuition would be $274.56 per credit hour and $233.73 per hour in adult vocational.

Tuition and fees for a full-time student would cost $2,235 per year, compared to a projected Florida average of $2,264.

Although officials stopped short of calling the budget figures gloomy or dismal, there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm in Winter Haven during a budget review workshop that also was broadcast to the college's Lakeland campus.

"We were expecting to be cut," PCC Trustee Cindy Ross said of the budget.

"Compared to what other folks are having to deal with, it's not bad," said Peter Elliott, the college's vice president and chief financial officer. "It's certainly not a good year."

During the coming months, the situation could get better or worse.

It could improve somewhat if enrollment continues rising.

PCC is budgeting for enrollment to stay fairly flat, a conservative budget approach, but officials expect continued enrollment growth that would bring in some badly needed extra cash.

Student fees are almost 35 percent of the operating budget.

On the other hand, if state revenues are lower than predicted, PCC and other community colleges could lose state dollars.

One day after Gov. Charlie Crist signed the state budget, he announced a plan to "hold back" 4 percent of money budgeted for state agencies, President Eileen Holden said. That affects the Department of Education, through which PCC is funded.

If that held-back money becomes a funding cut, which happened to colleges this year, PCC would lose about $750,000, Elliott said.

Community colleges get funded in amounts reflecting three-year average enrollment, rather than getting current per-student funds. That helps in lean periods, Elliott said, but puts funding behind for periods of high enrollment growth.

The proposed budget shows $30.07 million in revenue, compared with $30.3 million for the fiscal year ending June 30. The amount coming from state appropriations is expected to drop from $19.3 million to $18.9 million.

Expenditures in the budget start with a $29.7 million base, reflecting what it cost to operate PCC this year. Personnel costs are 69.1 percent of PCC's proposed operating budget, compared with 68.1 percent this year.

Another $654,593 in costs to continue current programs includes $179,766 to operate the PCC Airside Center, recently opened in Lakeland; and $441,201 to meet the expected 8 percent to 10 percent increase in PCC's utility costs and health-insurance costs.

A separate capital expenditures budget, funded differently by the state, covers facilities improvements and renovations. Its largest single-ticket items are $3.7 million for the J.D. Alexander Center, a satellite campus in Lake Wales, and $3.8 million for renovations at the Lakeland campus.

Not included in either budget - because lawmakers didn't fund it - is the $12 million PCC had counted on this year to match $12 million already donated by Stan Phelps, developer of the Clear Springs project planned in Bartow.

He agreed not to withdraw the donation despite the Legislature's failure to match it.

[ Robin Williams Adams can be reached at robin.adams@theledger.com or 863-802-7558. Read her blog at robinsrx.theledger.com. ]