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Schools

CCAC Copes With Proposed Cuts

The Community College of Allegheny County imposes a hiring freeze and increases tuition, anticipating cuts in Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed budget.

At the Community College of Allegheny County, cuts to higher education included in Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed budget have forced officials to look for ways balance their books without jeopardizing the education students receive—or how much they pay for it.

Under Corbett’s budget proposal, community colleges such as CCAC would receive a 10 percent cut in funding from the state. And while state officials are still negotiating the budget, community colleges have little reason to believe their situation will improve, according to David Hoovler, executive assistant to the president at CCAC.

“The state-related universities and state-supported universities were originally facing a 50-percent cut,” Hoovler said. “It’s not looking terribly likely, in spite of our best efforts, that the 10-percent cut to community colleges is going to be reduced.”

If approved, the state budget would leave CCAC with receive roughly $3.5 million less funding for the 2011-12 academic year. Because of that, CCAC’s Board of Trustees on May 5 approved a $104.9 million budget for the 2011-12 year—approximately $1 million less than the current year’s budget. 

To make up the remaining shortfall, the school also implemented a hiring freeze for non-union workers, tapped a reserve fund for $1 million and rolled out a $2-per-credit tuition increase, bringing tuition for Allegheny County residents to $87.25 per credit.

Anecdotally, Hoovler said students seem to understand the need for a tuition increase, even if they don’t like it. He added that the reduced budget won’t affect the number or type of courses offered at CCAC campuses; most cuts came out of operating expenses in administrative offices.

“We’re looking at doing as much as possible to avoid any cuts to direct instruction, to the academic departments and things that directly affect our teaching in the classroom,” Hoovler said. “That is, after all, why we’re here.”

Considering the plight of state schools—Penn State University officials, for instance, have discussed closing branch campuses and imposing tuition hikes to account for the $182 million in state funding they would lose—CCAC has fared relatively well, Hoovler said.

“I don’t think that was ever a discussion for us, about whether we would have to close any facilities,” Hoovler said. “We will find a way to work through it. It’s not a dire situation...but it’s still significant.”

The Next Wave


With four campuses and six additional centers in the county, CCAC expects to enroll 65,000 students in the coming year, Hoovler said. That number represents an increase of about eight-tenths of a percent from 2010-2011.

But one way in which CCAC’s tuition revenue might be affected is if fewer high school students use its dual enrollment program to take college courses. 

Corbett’s proposed budget would eliminate funding that helps offset students’ dual enrollment costs at high schools, which now accounts for $6.9 million of the state budget.

“If school districts don’t have money from the state to be able to offer that to students, then we are likely to see a lot fewer students coming,” Hoovler said.

But Hoovler said it’s too early to speculate the degree to which those cuts would affect CCAC. Without state funding, students in dual enrollment programs pay the same tuition rate per credit as county residents enrolled in courses, plus additional fees for online courses or labs.

At Riverview Senior High School, students don’t currently have the option to take college classes through a dual enrollment program, according to Superintendent Charles Erdeljac.

Nonetheless, the school is experiencing budget woes of its own. With a potential $432,000 decrease in state funding, Riverview teachers accepted a pay freeze for next year and the school board is considering a tax hike.

“We won’t know until the state budget passes exactly what the total will be,” Erdeljac said. “(But) $432,000 is a lot of money for Riverview.”

At Plum Senior High School, some students participate in dual enrollment programs, said  Assistant Principal Michael Loughren, who coordinates those programs. 

Loughren said he could not give specifics on how many students are enrolled or through which colleges they earn credits, but he said a slash in funding would likely impact student participation.

“It’s a nice way to get a head start, and it’s a great way for families to save money on general elective classes,” Loughren said. “I hope it doesn’t get eliminated from the state budget, but it looks as though it will be.”

According to an allocation chart on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s website, Plum received $1,265 in state funding for dual enrollment for the 2010-11 year, which puts the school at the bottom of Allegheny County recipients. 

Currently, state funding for dual enrollment takes into account a school’s market value and tax base when determining how much it should receive. 

The state also offers supplemental grants for low-income students. Students who qualify receive grants covering the cost of books, tuition and fees related to dual enrollment.

Districts with large school populations and relatively higher poverty rates typically receive more funding than smaller or more affluent communities. Woodland Hills, for instance, received $71,204 for the current year, and Wilkinsburg received $11,684. Upper St. Clair, meanwhile, received only $3,248.

Future Unclear


According to Hoovler, student services at CCAC might be hampered by pending cuts to education at the federal level as well.

Federal lawmakers are discussing whether to reduce funding to Pell Grants, which are available to low-income students. The current maximum of $5,550 per year would be reduced to $4,705. 

Additionally, lawmakers have proposed cuts to Perkins Act funding, which Hoovler said would impact CCAC.

“That affects a number of the special services that we’re able to provide,” Hoovler said. “We have a good bit of programming that’s funded through that act—and the future of a lot of that funding is very uncertain.”

Without an economic turnaround, Hoovler said, CCAC would have to continue tapping its reserve fund, which totals approximately $6 million before deducting the $1 million earmarked for next year’s budget.

“This is using a significant portion of those reserves,” Hoovler said. “I think the hope is the economic situation will improve over the coming years and eventually we would be able to move back into building up that rainy day fund, rather than drawing on it.”

Hoovler stressed that while CCAC has done its best to minimize the effect state cuts will have on students, the specifics of the cuts are still uncertain. He declined to comment on which services might be affected by a cut to Perkins Act funding, for instance, until details become clearer.

“That’s still something that’s changing almost on a daily basis,” Hoovler said. “So we’ll just really need to keep an eye on it and see what winds up happening as we move forward.”

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