Three Rivers College trustees pass budget with cuts, without raises

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A nearly $19.6 million projected budget passed Wednesday by the Three Rivers College Board of Trustees contains cuts for many departments, and no scheduled raises for employees.

The overall budget is almost 4 percent larger than the current fiscal year. Yet, reductions occurred from the president's office down as the institution faced more than $1 million in increased operation costs, reduced state allocations and other challenges, trustees were told.

Revenue for fiscal year 2012, which begins July 1, is only projected to be up by about $700,000.

"One thing you'll see in this budget is that there were no sacred cows," said President Dr. Devin Stephenson, adding, "I believe we can maintain the current services we have."

A focus during the budget process was on maintaining academic services, according to college leaders. The greatest percent of the budget, almost 34 percent, is spent on instruction, followed by about 17 and 13 percent respectively for institutional support and operation and maintenance.

"While we had to make sacrifices in all areas, we tried to minimize sacrifices in the areas of teaching and learning," said vice president for student success Jason Hoseney.

Stephenson has opted to suspend his own salary increase for up to six months, due to the current financial situation. A contract approved by trustees in May bumped his annual pay to $160,000 from a base salary of $145,400.

Campuswide pay increases will be re-evaluated at a later date, Stephenson said. Three Rivers continues to pursue outside funding such as grants, he explained. In the current fiscal year, staff received a pay increase of 1.5 percent was effective in January. Costs for that were estimated at $100,000.

Stephenson added that trustees continue to provide board-paid health insurance premiums, with costs up $41,000 for FY12, and the board-paid $1,000 deductible at a cost of $100,000.

Three Rivers lost $302,000 due to Missouri's 7 percent cut in state allocations for community colleges. State funding accounts for about 21 percent of the overall budget, with tuition and student fees making up nearly 50 percent.

"What has grown is our dependence on tuition and fees," said chief financial officer Charlotte Eubank.

Pertinent address:

2080 Three Rivers Blvd., Poplar Bluff, MO