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PCC Board finalizes budget for 2005-06
Photos and story by James Hill
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Community College Board of Directors voted to adopt the general fund budget at its Thursday, June 16 meeting. The adopted budget for the 2005-06 fiscal year is $134,583,291. To balance the budget, the board voted to raise tuition by $2 a credit to $64 for next year, effective for fall term of the 2005-06 school year. The raise in tuition is average among the state’s 17 community colleges. The seven-member board passed the proposed general fund budget that includes operating expenditures for the 2005-06 fiscal year and is the primary operating fund for all major instructional programs, instructional support and services.The state’s community colleges receive the largest portion of their operating revenue from the state. In December, Gov. Ted Kulongoski proposed a 2005-07 biennium budget that was $22 million less than the current budget and translated into a $5 million cut for the next two years for PCC. Since then, legislators have indicated that they will restore the governor’s cuts and most likely send more funds to community colleges, due to the severe 11 percent budget cut the previous biennium. This development has allowed PCC to scale back plans for more layoffs and deep cuts."The challenge for all of us is trying to balance our budgets with the uncertainty of state sources, but also staying focused on the future so that when times improve we are ready and able to gear up to take on new opportunities," said PCC District President Preston Pulliams.The board also raised the student activity fee to $1.25 from $1.10 and the technology fee to $4 from $3. The board did not raise tuition for international students, keeping the per credit rate at $190. The cost is roughly $10 to $20 less than the cost for international students at Seattle-area colleges, which PCC competes with to attract overseas students.The budget was approved by the Citizen Budget Committee at a public hearing on Thursday, May 19. The proposed levy to property owners will be 0.2828 per $1,000 of assessed value.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »