BUTLER TWP - The Butler County Community College Board of Trustees on Wednesday adopted a budget for 2005-06 that includes a tuition increase for students.

The $19.2 million budget reflects an increase in spending of 7.5 percent over this year, according to vice president of finance Lynn Burtner.

It is effective July 1 through June 30, 2006.

A $260,372 shortfall is anticipated in the budget, Burtner said. That is down from the original shortfall of $520,000 she had predicted. The college will end the current fiscal year a little bit ahead of where Burtner predicted, which will reduce the shortfall for next year, she said.

The budget also includes an increase of $4 per credit hour in tuition costs, which was approved previously by trustees in April.

Tuition now will be $71 a credit for in-county residents and for residents of counties in which the college has agreements. All other non-county students will pay $142 per credit, with out-of-state students paying $213 per credit.

Burtner said she expects to reopen the budget in July or later to make adjustments once the state finally adopts its budget.

"We fully anticipate having to do a rebudget because we've based our figures on the (old) funding formula," Burtner said.

The state determines how much money it reimburses community colleges based on the number of full-time equivalent students they have enrolled. Changes to that formula are under way and expected to affect the 2005-06 state allocations.

"We just don't know how it will affect them since no one is sure exactly what the change will be," Burtner said. "We know it'll be different, we just don't know how different."

Until a more solid figure is available, Burtner has estimated the state will appropriate around $4.6 million to BC3 for 2005-06.

Other sources of revenue include:

- $3.4 million from the county;

- $6.12 million from credit tuition and $670,000 from non-credit tuition;

- $15,000 in interest from investments;

- $179,450 from miscellaneous sources.

Major expenditures for the 2005-06 fiscal year include:

- $11.4 million in salaries, up $615,792 from the current year;

- $3.5 million in benefits, reflecting a $341,334 increase;

- $743,000 for utilities, up $43,068 from this year;

- $1.03 million for contracted services.

The increase in medical benefits was reduced from 23 percent to 15 percent by Linda Dodd, human resources director, who worked to get the best deal for the college from health care providers. That helped provide some savings, Burtner said.

The college could face another obstacle if a plan proposed by Gov. Ed Rendell goes into effect when the state budget is passed.

Rendell said last week he will push for legislation that would force the local entities supporting community colleges to match state subsidies. If the entities refused to do so, the state would then cut its funding to the community colleges.

In the case of BC3, its local support entity is Butler County.

Several trustees said the legislation is bad and is Rendell's way of putting blame on someone other than himself for funding shortfalls.

"They're trying to make the local sponsor the bad guy," said trustee Ted Cranmer.

Trustee Greg Zappala agreed.

However, trustee president Ray Steffler reminded everyone the funding formula for community colleges states one third of funding will come from the state, one third from the local sponsor and the remaining one third from tuition.

"Maybe (Rendell) is just trying to make the local sponsors accountable for their share," Steffler said.

BC3 president Cynthia Azari said Butler County has a lot of financial responsibility and she doesn't want to see the state penalize it for not meeting these funding expectations.

"To ask the county to do it would mean a significant increase in property taxes to county residents, and I can't support that," Azari said.

While the approximate 40 percent funding the state provides is appreciated, Azari said she plans to work to address Rendell's plan and hopefully persuade the governor it is not a good idea.

"If he goes through with this, the only ones that will be hurting are the community colleges because they will be penalized the most," she said.