NCC Budget 2011

NEWS RELEASE

Immediate: May 9, 2011

 

COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVES NASSAU COMMUNITY COLLEGE BUDGET

Budget Calls For No Tax Increase And For Spending No More Than Previous Year

On the evening of May 3, the Nassau Community College Board of Trustees adopted the Nassau Community College budget for Fiscal Year 2011-2012. The adopted budget projects spending less than did the College budget that was adopted for Fiscal Year 2010-2011, does not call for any increase in County taxes to support the College, and provides for a $258 tuition increase ($129 per semester), bringing the annual tuition at the College to $3,990.

Dr. Donald Astrab, President of NCC thanked the Board for its actions. “These are tough times,” he said, “and it is only through the cooperation of all parts of the campus community that we will be able to continue to deliver an affordable, high quality, higher education to the residents of Nassau County.”

With the adoption of the $202,946,000 budget for FY 2011-2012, the Board has, for the second year in a row, called for spending less than did the College budget adopted for Fiscal Year 2009-2010. Nassau Community College is the only college or university within the SUNY system that has been able to accomplish that goal. It also marks the third year in a row when there is no increase in the County tax allocated to the College.

Efforts to produce a balanced College budget were complicated this year by a cut in State aid to community colleges that translated into a cut of $2.75 million for NCC, which is on top of the cut of more than $8 million in State aid to NCC since December of 2009. However, the tuition increase would have been even greater if the State Legislature had not been able to restore a portion of the spending cut that was initially proposed by Governor Cuomo in his original budget.

Substantial increases in health insurance rates and in State pension costs required other parts of the College budget to be cut in order to keep spending in line with the previous year. For example, the budget calls for a cut of $1.3 million through a reduction in services contracted for building and grounds maintenance and through a cap on other non-salary related expenses. The budget also reflects a cut of more than 11% in the salary expenses for non-unionized administrators that was implemented beginning in July of 2010 and that involved reducing the number of non-unionized administrators by approximately 9%. The budget also reflects other savings projected to be achieved through greater instructional efficiencies.

In addition, the College budget also relies on $1 million from its fund balance. Since Fiscal Year 2009-2010, the College’s fund balance has declined by 75%.