ECC board OKs balanced budget of $144 million
By Emily McFarlan emcfarlan@stmedianetwork.com June 14, 2012 5:28PM
Updated: July 16, 2012 6:29AM
ELGIN — Elgin Community College trustees approved the college’s 2013 budget this week.
The final version of the $144 million budget remains balanced, with few changes since that budget was presented in May, according to Controller Heather Scholl.
The biggest change is that the increase in medical rates the community college had expected came in much lower than it originally had budgeted, Scholl said. The college allocated that money instead to tutoring and wellness programs, including programs to stop smoking and encourage exercise.
The approved 2013 budget still assumes student enrollment at the college will remain the same.
Revenue from tuition still will increase from $23.3 million to just under $24 million, she said. That’s because the District 509 board approved a tuition increase in March for the second straight year, as the college brings online several new buildings that are part of the Elgin Community College Facilities Master Plan.
The $6-per-credit-hour increase bring ECC’s tuition to $105 per credit hour starting this summer.
With most Facilities Master Plan projects complete, the college’s budgeted construction spending will drop from $62 million to $40 million, it has said.
And the school still is waiting on several unknowns from the state, including pension reform and a possible $22 million cut in funding for community colleges. That could dock $500,000 from the college, it has said.
ECC spokesman Jeff Julian said Thursday that it’s “tough to say” what the college would do if state funding was cut, since its budget already has been approved.
“It’s tough to say what were going to do at this point because we can’t say what the state is going to do,” Julian said.
