BUTLER TWP - Butler County Community College trustees Thursday approved a 2004-05 budget that includes a tuition increase in the fall.

The $17.84 million budget includes a $4 per credit hour tuition increase, which was previously approved by trustees in April. The current budget is $16.8 million.

New tuition rates for the fall semester will be $67 per credit hour for in-county students and $13 for student fees. Total is $80 per credit hour.

Last year, the college raised tuition $2 per credit hour.

The college has about 3,000 students.

This year's tuition increase was necessary to help balance the budget. BC3, as well as other community colleges in the state, have suffered serious financial setbacks because of legislation proposing changes to the way state subsidies are administered. Community colleges also did not received as much state funding this year as in the past.

Major sources of revenue for 2004-05 include:

Student tuition and fees - $7.5 million, reflecting a $1.1 million increase over this year.

State appropriations - $7.1 million, an increase of $585,610 over this year.

County appropriations - $3.5 million, an increase of $2,720.

Because the state has not yet released its funding for community colleges for 2004-05, BC3 business manager Lynn Burtner said the amount she's budgeted is based on current year figures. If a new funding formula is approved before July 1, those numbers will be off.

Burtner has included a $520,744 shortfall for state funding in the budget in the event the funding formula is changed, she said.

Currently, state funding is determined on a full-time equivalent ratio of students. It nets around $1,500 per student in state reimbursement under the current formula, Burtner said.

BC3 is experiencing a 7 percent increase in enrollment for the summer semester and a 4.5 percent increase for the fall semester, according to spokeswoman Susan Changnon.

Burtner said it is financially touch-and-go because of the uncertainty of state funding, and because the proposed formula changes would only make it worse.

"The number that's in the governor's budget would not even fund what's needed for the community college this (fiscal) year, let alone next year," Burtner said.

Major expenditures in the 2004-05 budget include:

Salaries and wages - $10.8 million, up $522,161.

Benefits - $3.1 million, up $254,029.

Contracted services - $1 million, up $38,177.

Burtner said the budget is balanced, but there is not much wiggle room if something else needs to be cut.

In other action, the trustees:

Approved up to a 4 percent increase in salaries for administrators for next school year.

Hired the auditing firm of Maher Duessel as its auditor for 2004-06 at a cost of $18,000 for year one, $19,000 for year two and $20,000 for year three.