Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

PCC's Board of Directors Approves 2001-02 Budget

Photos and story by James Hill

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Community College Board of Directors have unanimously voted to adopt the college’s general fund fiscal year budget of $114,032,437 at its Thursday, June 21 meeting. The budget approved by the board includes state support based on funding from a formula that factors in enrollment growth.The seven-member board adopted the budget, which is an increase of nearly $11 million from last year’s general fund budget ($102,935,569). "Much of the increase,"said Randy McEwen, vice president of Administrative Services, "can be attributed to new program offerings and providing additional services to students. The college has grown but until now we haven’t been able to add the needed support services for students."The total includes all operating expenditures for the 2001-02 fiscal year and is the college’s primary operating fund for all major instructional programs, instructional support and services.The board’s formal adoption of the budget followed certification from the Multnomah County Tax Supervising and Conservation Commission at the end of a public hearing on Thursday, May 17. The levy to property owners will be $.2828 per $1,000 of assessed value. In addition, the college’s tuition rate will increase $1 per credit hour for 2001-02, from $39 to $40.The breakdown by campus: Sylvania, the largest PCC campus, will receive $31,130,872; Rock Creek is budgeted for $14,551,159; and Cascade will get $11,814,701. The college’s Open Campus has $6,447,796 earmarked for its adult and continuing education programs, and $5,566,532 for its business and government services.The highlights of the 2001-02 budget include:-Addition of 10 new full-time faculty positions.-$131,000 for a library digitization project.-$1.6 million back to instructional programs due to tuition revenue generated from enrollment growth beyond the target set by the college.-$157,000 for the Skill Center to maintain the program at its current level. -$126,000 to implement the new math program curriculum.The main sources of revenue for the budget are property taxes, tuition and community college formula funding from the State of Oregon. State funding accounts for $61.9 million, or 57 percent, of PCC’s general fund budget and is derived from general state tax support and 50 percent of property taxes that are divided primarily by student enrollment between the 17 Oregon community colleges. Tuition and fees are estimated at $26.4 million, or 24 percent of the general fund resources. The locally retained portion of the property taxes are expected to generate $8.4 million or approximately 7.7 percent of the total current operating revenues. Money from self-improvement courses, continuing education units and community education classes is estimated at $6.6 million, or approximately 6.1 percent of the current operating revenues.PCC is the largest institution of higher learning in the state, serving more than 980,000 residents in a five-county, 1,500-square-mile area in northwest Oregon. The college, which enrolls 100,000 students annually, has three comprehensive campuses, which provide lower-division college transfer courses, two-year associate degree programs, professional and technical career training. The college’s Open Campus provides job training, adult education and life-long learning, including welfare-to-work and alternative high school programs. PCC offers classes at training centers and approximately 200 other locations throughout the district.