College budget up 11 percent

Trustees on Monday passed the first reading of Flathead Valley Community College's $10,115,929 general fund budget, an increase of 11 percent over fiscal year 2005.

The preliminary budget includes $9,380,452 for the Kalispell campus, up 12 percent, and $735,477 for the Lincoln County Campus in Libby, a decrease of 4 percent.

According to Sheila Gestring, chief financial officer, about 75 percent of the budget consists of salaries and benefits for employees.

"Actually, that's a very good percentage," Gestring said. "Average is about 80 percent."

Some line-item increases reflected in the total include an 11 percent increase in utility expenses and the transfer of three positions from grant funding to the regular budget.

A comparison of salaries for fiscal year 2006 compared with 2005 shows an increase of 5 percent, while benefits - particularly health insurance and workers-compensation contributions - jumped 22 percent.

The budget included a chart showing trends in student enrollment, represented as full-time equivalents of 15 credit hours a semester, from 1999 to 2006.

"You'll notice the trend increase shows a nice healthy 4 percent on average," Gestring said.

Increased enrollment, along with an improvement in state funding, brought the college an increase in per-student revenues of about $10 per full-time equivalent student, or about .2 percent, Gestring said.

"It's an improvement, but there's still a little recovery to do," she said, referring to past legislative cuts.

The preliminary budget projects an 18-percent tuition revenue increase from $2,346,412 last year to $2,769,331.

The budget presentation included a comparison of the cost of tuition and fees at FVCC compared with all other public Montana colleges and universities.

Flathead was the second-least expensive.

Dawson Community College had the lowest tuition, beating out Flathead by about $12.

"This is my favorite chart," Gestring said.

She pointed out a student could pay for two years at Flathead Valley Community College for the cost of one year at some of the other state colleges and universities. Gestring said that's with no consideration of room and board.

Trustee Bob Nystuen asked which areas of the budget posed the biggest risks for the college. President Jane Karas responded that enrollment was always an unknown.

If officials overestimate student enrollment, the college must return state revenue for that semester. However, college officials use conservative projections to avoid that possibility.

Growth in the property tax base of the Flathead Valley helped the revenue side of the preliminary budget. Projections show a 3 percent increase in the mill value upon which property taxes are based.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.