Lane Community College will raise tuition but has avoided lay-offs to cope with its financial shortfall. The LCC Budget Committee passed a spending plan Thursday night.
LCC faced an estimated $12 million shortfall going into next year. That's because of a drop in enrollment and continued reduction in state funding. The school was able to make up for most of that by reducing its part-time staff and not hiring for open positions. To deal with the rest, the budget committee decided to raise tuition by $3 per credit hour. LCC president Mary Spilde:
"I don't believe there was one person, including myself, who likes the idea of increasing tuition. Tuition is too high. But that is a direct result of the disinvestment in state funding. We are still at lows below where we were in 2009 in the state investment in community colleges and that needs to change."
Spilde says the budget committee avoided cutting programs, which she says is a benefit to students. This also means the school won't have to lay off any full time staff. The budget goes to the Board of Education at a public hearing June 11th.
