The Navajo County Community College Governing Board met Dec. 20 and discussed what the coming year is likely to hold for Northland Pioneer College and the students who attend the school.
NPC President Dr. Jeanne Swarthout addressed the board, explaining that the first priority is to improve student success by removing barriers to completion. That includes updating the college’s advising policies, active support from faculty and staff, and being responsive to community needs and workforce trends. Steps involve promoting a two-year class schedule, reviewing childcare and transportation options, and looking at the school’s program offerings to ensure that the college is serving the needs of the communities. In addition, the college will be making its website more user friendly and accessible by smartphone.
Although the details of the fiscal year budget have not yet been determined, the college is addressing some of the concerns that are likely to come up, including revenue shortages. “Overall revenues are expected to decrease compared to the current fiscal year, primarily due to an estimated decrease in property taxes,” explained Swarthout. She noted that state funding for operating maintenance support is expected to remain relatively flat at $1,606,000.
“State funding for equalization for fiscal year 2017-18 is $585,200 higher than the prior year, but will not likely offset all revenue decreases,” she stated. That loss is expected to amount to just over $1 million. It is also likely that although the property tax will be levied at the maximum rate, the decrease in property values will still mean less money coming to the district.”
Although no decision has been made regarding tuition increases, it was suggested by Swarthout that tuition could increase by as much as $2 per credit hour, which would bring in an additional $100,000. She emphasized that no more than a $2 increase will be recommended as part of the three-year plan, but the matter requires discussion first. She also noted that NPC’s tuition cost remains the lowest of any community college in the state, which is currently at $70 per credit hour. Pima is the next lowest at $78.50, with Coconino the highest at $102 per credit hour.
Swarthout anticipates that the margin will grow even wider in the coming years. “We continue to be the best bargain in the state. We incorporated a slow tuition growth over the last 12 years. I expect we will remain a pretty good savings over other colleges,” she said.
Chairwoman Ginny Handorf expressed concern that other community colleges in the state could be looking at some steep increases.
“We don’t want to do that. We want to take a gradual, steady approach. We know our population and they can’t handle any steep jumps,” assured Swarthout.
Regarding health insurance and minimum wage increases, Swarthout said that the college would be making wage adjustments in January.
“As far as insurance, it’s a big unknown to us like it is to the rest of the nation. We estimate a big jump, but we don’t know the reality yet,” she concluded.
In other business last week, the board:
* Approved the purchase of two Dodge Caravans frorm Larry Miller Dodge Ram Avondale for a total cost of $50,839.72 and a Chevrolet passenger van for $43,449.85 from Courtesy Chevrolet. It was noted that the request for bids was first offered to all local dealerships without response.
* Approved the VMWare licensing contract at a cost of $58,788 from SHI. VMWare supports 99 percent of approximately 200 servers involving both the Painted Desert and White Mountain campus data centers.
* Approved the purchase of replacement HP computer hardware with support for classroom technology at a cost of $73,377 from CDWG.
* Approved the purchase of OnBase enterprise content management software from Hyland Software. The original amount of purchase was listed as $54,994 with a yearly recurring cost of $46,648, but Chief Information Officer PJ Way negotiated with the company to reduce the initial amount by $10,964.
* Heard an update on the Bales Avenue improvements in the area of the Little Colorado Campus driveway in Winslow. The project is spearheaded by the City of Winslow, which was expected to award a $283,199 contract to McCauley Construction for the construction. NPC’s portion of the contract is $181,347.
* Approved the 2018-19 academic calendar.
