By Linda Kor The Navajo County Community College Governing Board met Tuesday to review the annual budget assumptions and guidelines for Northland Pioneer College and to respond to a recent opinion piece published in a southern Navajo County newspaper. Interim Vice President of Financial Services Madeira Ellison outlined the assumptions and guidelines, which will be used to provide points for consideration while developing the upcoming budget. It was noted by Ellison that the overall revenues and expenditures are expected to remain relatively the same as the current fiscal year. The budget is anticipated to increase by $265,100, which equates to one percent of the general fund budget of the current year. It is also anticipated that Equalization Funding will increase by $243,500 and Operational State Aid will increase by $21,600. Under consideration will be a tuition increase of $2 per credit hour, which, if approved as part of the final budget, would bring the cost to $70 per credit hour. Ellison also explained that most other community colleges in the state are proposing a similar increase, with the exception of one that will be proposing a $1 increase. “Even with the proposed increase, Northland Pioneer College has the lowest tuition costs among community colleges in the state,” she said. A graph presented by Ellison showed that a full-time student taking 15 credits per semester at NPC would have an annual in-state tuition of $2,180. Yavapai County Community would be the next closest with tuition of $2,340 if its increase goes through, and the highest tuition would be at Coconino Community College with an annual cost of $3,303 if its proposed increase is approved. The guidelines also include addressing childcare options for students and employees, transportation options for students, and utilizing input from students and community members regarding class scheduling. The board gave its approval of the item and will be presented with further information regarding the budget in the coming months. It is also proposed that the college seek the maximum allowable tax levy rate, which will be two percent higher than the current year tax. The board also addressed an opinion piece published in The White Mountain Independent criticizing the college and outlining what the writer, Ren Montage, called NPC’s “financial and academic failures.” (Editor’s note: Montage also submitted the piece to The Tribune-News for publication, but it was held until possible inaccuracies identified regarding the enrollment and monetary figures could be clarified by the writer. Montage did not respond to the request for clarification.) “I welcome close scrutiny of our finances. I would have liked for the individual who wrote this to have taken the added measure of reaching out to the college so that we could respond to the information. If he or she had, I would have mentioned how fortunate we are to have equalization funding in our state, and how not all students have the goal of completing certification or a degree. We would like to see more of that and, hopefully, that will increase with the implementation of the new PASS program,” stated board member Prescott Winslow. Board member James Matteson also commented on the opinion piece, stating, “NPC does not just provide two-year degrees in order to go on to a four-year degree. This was ignored in this piece. If 14.6 percent of the people in Navajo County have a bachelor’s degree, which is half the Arizona average, I say, so what. Usually people in agrarian areas are not seeking a bachelor’s degree in history or something of that nature. The rates noted ignore programs such as welding. These people are not seeking a PhD, they’re looking for a job. “NPC appeals to a broad audience that many community colleges don’t. We serve an area as big as many states and need expensive technology to reach students. This apparently rankles the writer. We serve an area similar in size to Maricopa with a fraction of the population. “I was also miffed at the indication of skullduggery taking place, like we are walking off with our pockets full,” said Matteson. After comments from the board, Matteson stated he would like someone from the college to create a written response in an accurate and factual manner. Chairwoman Ginnie Handorf noted that she preferred that the college move forward in a positive manner and not feed into the negative attitude of the individual writing the opinion piece. In other business, the board awarded a contract to Western Grade to build the White Mountain Campus Detention Pond for $94,700 plus $5,000 for taxes, for a total of $99,700. Two bids were received for this project, Western Grade for $94,700 and McCauley Construction for $170,900. The board also approved the 2017-18 academic calendar in order to provide guidance as the Northern Arizona Vocational Institute of Technology and area high schools prepare their calendars.