According to its newly adopted budget, Jefferson College will spend about $2.4 million more than it brings in this fiscal year, which began July 1 and runs through June 30, 2025.

The college’s Board of Trustees voted 4-0 June 13 to adopt the 2025 fiscal year budget. Trustees Margie Passmore and Steve Meinberg were absent from the meeting.

The new budget calls for $39.6 million in expenditures and $37.2 million in revenues, with the college using reserve funds to balance the budget. Despite the deficit spending, the college will end the fiscal year with $10,644,893 in unrestricted reserve funds, which is 28.6 percent of the school’s projected annual revenue.

President Dena McCaffrey said college leaders try to keep a minimum of 15 to 20 percent of annual revenue in its reserve funds.

The FY24 budget when approved projected $37.5 million in expenditures and $35,045,903 in revenues.

McCaffrey said the budget projections each year do not tell the full story of the college’s financial situation.

“The college always budgets very conservatively,” she said. “For the (2024) fiscal year, we budgeted a deficit of more than $2.4 million. However, our deficit for the year is now projected at $300,000.

“For fiscal year 2025, we are projecting very conservatively because we are unsure of the new tiered-tuition model – how it will affect the total revenues. I expect expenses and revenues for fiscal year 2025 to end closer to this year’s (final totals).”

The 2025 fiscal year budget includes the college’s newly adopted tiered-tuition model, a switch from the old fee per credit hour model. The tiered-tuition system categorizes classes into three tiers, with Tier 1 classes costing the least and Tier 3 classes costing the most.

College leaders say the new system should be “more transparent” in that all associated fees are rolled into the tiered-tuition model, as opposed to the prior system of a cost per credit hour, with additional costs for some classes, such as lab and technology fees.

Tier 1 classes cost $175 per credit hour for in-district students, $235 per credit hour for out-of-district students and $295 per credit hour for out-of-state students. Tier 2 classes cost $230 per credit hour for in-district students, $290 per credit hour for out of district and $350 per credit hour for out of state. Tier 3 classes cost $295 per credit hour for in-district students, $355 per credit hour for out of district and $415 per credit hour for out of state.

The college remains in solid financial shape, McCaffrey said.

“We have really built a strong financial position over the last couple years that allows us to fulfill our mission,” she said. “Our leadership team has worked really hard to ensure the college can meet its responsibilities.

“I am confident in our leadership’s ability to be fiscally responsible.”

Employee raises

The FY25 budget includes an overall increase of $438,000 to cover the cost of pay raises for full- and part-time salaries, including a 5-percent cost-of-living raise for full-time faculty. Other employees will receive cost-of-living raises ranging from 0 to 3 percent, with a 2-percent step pay increase applied to all eligible staff.

McCaffrey said the college has approximately 325 full- and part-time employees, and all will receive raises.

“This includes faculty, staff and administrators,” she said.

McCaffrey’s salary increases from about $200,000 to $210,120 under the new budget.

In addition to the “regular” employees described above, the college employs hundreds of adjunct instructors, with the number of adjuncts varying from month to month, McCaffrey said.

In 2023, the college produced 806 W-2 forms for adjunct instructors, she added.

“The college is in the second year of implementing a promotion system for adjunct pay,” she said. “The base adjunct rate will increase from $675 to $680 per credit hour. However, adjunct instructors now have the opportunity to earn considerably higher rates of pay based on experience and professional development.”

Capital projects

The FY25 budget includes $13.5 million in planned capital project expenditures, with those funds paying for all or part of several projects, including the following:

■ $1.3 million for the year (out of a total $5,192,541 project) for the expansion/renovation of the Jefferson College Arnold campus, with the project completion targeted for August;

■ $2.5 million for the year (out of a total $4,917,240 cost) for the addition of a Viking Woods (Hillsboro campus housing) residence hall, with the project completion also targeted for August;

■ $2,667,000 for the year (out of a total $4 million project) for the work on the new Veterinary Technology facility on the Hillsboro campus, with the project completion targeted for January 2025;

■ $5.5 million for the year (out of a total $7.8 million cost) for the renovation of the Fine Arts building on the Hillsboro campus, with work expected to begin in September;

■ $167,000 for the year (out of a total $500,000 project) for renovation of the lower level restrooms and the Viking Room in the Student Center on the Hillsboro campus, with the work expected to begin in May 2025.

Other budgeted projects

The FY25 budget includes funding for several other improvement projects.

■ $1.25 million in infrastructure repair and replacement projects, such as tuckpointing, flooring and concrete replacement, painting, landscaping and outdoor signage projects, as well as completion of the pedestrian bridge project on the Hillsboro campus;

■ $1 million in other capital improvements, like accessibility and security upgrades, computer and software upgrades and furniture replacement;

■ $299,000 in new recommended projects from the Strategic Planning Committee;

■ a $400,000 match for a grant-subsidized renovation to support the Workforce Development and Employee Services department.