Highland Community CollegeTrustees approved a permanent budget for the current fiscal year Tuesday night. Officials at the Freeport school say the budget reflects efforts to move forward despite a steep drop in state support.
Jill Janssen is the college’s vice president of administrative services. She says the college lost more than a million dollars in state support last year and Illinois' stopgap budget is more of the same. She says that reduction has made a viable budget more difficult to achieve, and uncertainty about future support doesn't help. But it still has to be done.
“We’ve kind of chosen to focus on the things that we can control, and try to improve those areas, and trying to focus on the positive, and move forward.” she says.
Janssen says the college looked for ways to compensate. That includes cutting a half dozen positions and targeted reductions to some programs. The school also realized substantial savings in its property and liability insurance. Total reductions in expenditures came to around $700,000. But the budget wasn't just about cuts.
“On the other side of that, we’ve invested in new programs and in bolstering some existing programs to increase the revenue side of the ledger,” Janssen says.
In the end, the trustees approved a budget that includes approximately $13.6 million in revues and $13.8 million in expenses for Fiscal Year 2017. The college will have to dip into reserves to make up the projected $272,000 deficit.
But the future looks a little brighter. In contrast to many colleges and universities in the state, Highland's enrollment rose slightly this fall - the headcount was up 3.8% with credit hours up 1.7% - and it’s hoped the program investments will lead to more increases in the future.