CRANBERRY TWP Tuition at Butler County Community College will increase 8 percent in the coming school year because the county is deferring its payments to the college.

Tuition beginning July 1 will be $79 per credit for residents of the county. Currently it is $73. Students also are charged $20 in fees per credit, but those fees will not change.

The college is facing a $1 million revenue loss because the county said it will cut its payments starting in July.

However, the county said it would make up the deferred amount, spreading the amount over three years starting in 2010.

The county now pays about $850,000 per quarter toward the school's $22.8 million operating budget.

The county should be paying one-third of the operating budget.

The county also pays a slightly more than $1 million a year toward the school's debt. These payments also will be deferred.

The college has an overall budget of $26.5 million, which includes federal money that is not part of the operating budget.

Student tuition and state money make up the majority of the budget.

The school's trustees approved the tuition increase Wednesday when they met at the campus in Cranberry Township.

President Nick Neupauer said the deferment was the largest reason for the shortfall in the 2009-10 budget, which has not been presented or approved yet.

Jim Hrabosky, vice president for finance, said the preliminary operating budget is expected to be $23.5 million in the school's new budget year starting in July. However, revenue is only expected to be $22.9 million. The budget grows about 2.3 percent, he said, and the college is planning for a 2 percent enrollment increase.

The tuition increase will not cover the entire shortfall, he said, and the college will have to draw from its reserve funds.

Trustee Eric Schultz said there hasn't been a tuition increase or a fee increase in three years, so students shouldn't look at this like one large increase. He also noted how much lower tuition is at the college than at state universities.

"It is not business as usual," Neupauer said.

The college instituted a hiring freeze and ordered a 5 percent reduction in discretionary spending to help control budget issues. Most cost-saving and revenue-creating measures will be taken as needed, he said.

Hrabosky said an energy audit done earlier this year saved the college about $40,000 in telephone bills.

The tuition increase means state residents from other counties will pay $158 in tuition per credit hour and out-of-state residents will pay $237 per credit hour.

The college has more than 3,000 credit students. The preliminary college budget is expected to be presented next month.