Brewer plans drastic cuts in education funds

A budget plan revealed Jan. 14 by Governor Jan Brewer could result in tuition hikes for Central Arizona College students.

Brewer’s budget proposes to cut university funding by 20 percent and community college funding by 50 percent, or $67 million.

“We as a state have a big budget problem, but I disagree this is the way to solve that problem,” said CAC President Dennis Jenkins.

The cuts to community colleges would vary by school, with CAC hit by a 58-percent reduction, which amounts to a loss of $2.9 million.

The $2.9 million reduction represents about 5 percent of the college’s $60 million annual budget.

In addition to the reduction in state funding, Jenkins said it is likely the assessed value of property in the district will fall between 5and 10 percent, forcing the college to consider upping tuition and seeking property tax rate increases.

Tuition at CAC currently is $76 per credit hour, one of the lowest rates in the state. Jenkins said each dollar increase in tuition would net an additional $125,000 in revenue for the college.

“Increasing tuition will not generate a lot of revenue, but it will impact the students of the college significantly,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins did not provide details of a possible tax rate increase, but typically with a rate increase tied to a drop in property valuation, the amount paid by homeowners stays on par with the prior year or drops slightly.

A continued increase in enrollment at CAC makes the college’s situation especially difficult in the face of possible reductions in revenue.

“It is tough to justify reductions when demand is continuing to increase,” Jenkins said. “We are continually adding classes, but have not added additional full-time facility.”

The college staff is scheduled to begin working on a budget for the next fiscal year immediately.

“We have some tough decisions ahead,” Jenkins said.