On March 17, the Alamo Colleges’ Board of Trustees raised tuition by 5 percent for District students. The tuition for 12 credit hours will go up by $36 to $781. This is the seventh year in a row that the District has raised tuition.
In a memo to staff, Chancellor Bruce Leslie wrote that the “Tuition increase will partly offset the use of $14.6 million in fund balance that was necessitated to balance this year’s budget.”The fund balance is a reserve or savings fund that the District has. The approved general operating revenue for 2009 is $257,828,790, while the approved expenditures are $272,444,485. The Board estimates that the tuition increase will generate $4 million in additional revenue, leaving a $10 million shortfall.
San Antonio College’s Student Government Association President Julianne Cantu said they were not warned of the rise in tuition.
“It was pretty sudden. We found out about it the day that the meeting was held.... like three hours before the meeting, we found out about it. So I rallied... three of our members to go with me. We created a speech, we did research, some quick research... we went and we spoke.”
Cantu said they went there to speak up for students opposed to the tuition increase. Currently they are taking signatures from students to show their disapproval of the increase, and came to Palo Alto College on April 20 to gather signatures.
Faculty Senate President for Palo Alto, Dr. Mary-Ellen Jacobs said the Chancellor urged employees to make suggestions for cost saving from December of last year thru January. Over 400 suggestions were made.
“Right now they’re getting ready to announce the winning suggestions,” Jacobs said. “What troubles me is that it took three long months to identify winning suggestions when the district’s need for creative cost savings measures seems so urgent.”
At the meeting SAC’s SGA suggested a half-penny raise in taxes, but the students say the Board did not listen. “If you raise the taxes, it spreads out the burden,” says Tammy Kothe-Ramsey, Secretary of SAC’s Student Government. “Like $5 per $100,000...whereas it goes up however much for us, just for one person.”
Tax revenue for the approved budget are 31.6 percent of the budget, State appropriations are 24.9 percent, and tuition and fees are 34.3 percent, making tuition and taxes almost two-thirds of revenue.
Jacobs said, “State revenues to community colleges were cut drastically several years ago, and we have just not been able to recoup. Every year we are asked to trim the college budget a bit more in order to balance the district budget.”
She also mentioned the financial outlook for 2009-2010 is not clear yet. “That was mentioned at the Audit, Budget and Finance Committee meeting last night [April 14]. The district is not sure how much funding will be coming from the state so that presents a large question mark when trying to plan for next year’s budget.”
Tuition is experienced differently among students. Mark Moreno, a History major at Palo Alto, said, “I’ve applied for Financial Aid, but my dad makes a little too much for me to get any.” Freshman Engineering Major Kevin Narunjo said Financial Aid has covered his tuition, but barely. “We’ve noticed the checks have gotten smaller.”
Narunjo said several of his siblings have gone to Palo Alto College, with one currently at a university. He said, “It’s better to go to community college because tuition over there at the big colleges, they’re really… increasing worse than community colleges. So that’s why she went here first and then went on.... That’s why I’m here.”
Palo Alto’s Vice President of College Services Mike Flores said that the District has pegged tuition at half UTSA’s tuition, but it is not there yet. Alamo Colleges’ tuition is approximately one-third of the cost of UTSA’s tuition. He said 14 positions were eliminated recently, which saved over $475,000 at Palo Alto.
Flores said, “I think we’re all being asked, all public entities are asked to… do the same or a little more with a little less resources and so that’s kind of the challenge…. Finding, in creative ways, of delivering instruction and services with the resources we have.”
Tuition hikes will be even higher for those students who live out of district or out of state. For out-of-district students, the increase will be 8 percent. Those without state residency will see their tuition rise by 10 percent. The district is planning to raise these fees still further in the future.
The next Alamo Colleges Board of Trustees’ meeting is Tuesday, May 19, at 6 p.m. in the Killen Center, 201 W. Sheridan.