Butler County Community College is requesting a slight increase in county funding for the 2017-18 fiscal year, as presented to the county commissioners Tuesday afternoon.

President Nicholas Neupauer and Jim Hrabosky, the vice president for administration and finance, presented the commissioners with information about the operating budget of past years with a look forward at the 2017-18 budget.

For 2017-18, the college is requesting almost $5.2 million from the county. For this fiscal year, the county gave just shy of $5 million.

The additional $200,000 the college has requested will help with costs of renovations and equipment upgrades at the main campus. Hrabosky said the Science and Technology Building has technology that is about 15 years old. Refurnishing a classroom with furniture and technology is estimated to cost $20,000, and the college anticipates redoing five classrooms for a total of $100,000, Hrabosky said.

In addition, the college hopes to upgrade some equipment in the nursing lab and classrooms in the Nursing and Allied Health Building and complete paving outside of the Public Safety Training Facility.

This request includes a few assumptions about the future budget, Hrabosky said.

One of these assumptions is that the tuition rate will be increased $5 per credit hour, taking the in-county rate from $153 to $158, he said. Another assumption is that enrollment will remain flat with a baseline of 69,000 credits. Currently, for the 2016-17 school year, enrollment is down two percent from 2015-16.

This budget also assumes there will be no increase in the state funding, which has dipped significantly in previous years, according to Hrabosky.

In 2016, the school is receiving $8 million n state funding, up from $7.7 million in 2015.

However, the school had also received $8 million in 2008, roughly 39 percent of the total budget. But that was before state funding dropped.

In 2011, the state gave BC3 $8.4 million. In 2012, the school received $7.5 million, and Hrabosky said the school is starting to recover from the recession period when state funding dropped.

Now, that same $8 million only represents 29 percent of the total budget.

The college survived, according to Neupauer, through the expansion into other counties. Out-of-county tuition diversified the risk and revenue for the college.

In 2008, student revenue was 47 percent of the budget, and now, it is 57 percent, recouping the 10 percent loss from the state. Neupauer said this increase can be attributed to out-of-county tuition rates and increased tuition rates overall.

Neupauer stressed that the money from the county is an investment in the area and serves as a tuition subsidy for Butler County students. While BC3 operates out-of-county locations, Neupauer said all money from the commissioners stays within the county.

There is a 12 percent return on investment, Neupauer said, which is comparable to private investment.

Commissioner Leslie Osche questioned the return on investment for areas like the Mars and Seneca Valley school districts, where taxpayers are providing large contributions.

Neupauer presented information on how many students are enrolled from Butler County school districts, and while the college enrolls an average of 17 percent of graduating students, those percents are at 10 and 13 for Mars and Seneca Valley, respectively. Other districts, like Butler and Karns City, have BC3 enrollments as high as 22 percent.

However, that return on investment is not only for matriculating college students, Neupauer said.

Up to 20,000 students countywide benefit from non-credit programs run at the college, such as classes for first responders.

While not as many students from Mars and Seneca Valley attend BC3, the College in the High School program is very popular in those districts, according to Hrabosky.

In 2015-16, BC3 provided college within the high school and dual enrollment classes to 623 Butler County students (268 from Mars, no classes were offered in Seneca Valley.)

In the fall of 2016 semester, BC3 provided college within high schoool and dual enrollment classes to 327 Butler County students (188 from Mars; 19 from Seneca Valley).

The commissioners will vote on the approved amount when they vote on the budget, which must be approved by Jan. 1, 2017, but they seemed optimistic about the possibility of BC3 receiving more money.

Commissioner Kevin Boozel said: “I think considering the percentage increase they’re looking for and the amount of growth that we’re seeing in the county of Butler, I think it’s a reasonable request.”

Commissioner Kim Geyer said she considers investing in BC3 as investing in a better quality of life for the county.

“I’ve always felt that when we’re investing in BC3, we’re investing in a variety of things pertaining to the county such as workforce investment,” Geyer said. “We’re making investments in quality of life for the community and the county at large.”