To the Campus Community:

In August at my Welcome Back Address, I noted the challenges we faced in securing a balanced budget for the current fiscal year (FY24). I also promised a more transparent budget planning process for FY25. Because the gaps we were able to close in this year’s budget will need to be accounted for in next year’s budget, I would like to share more detail on these shortfalls, how we addressed them, and what the implications are for future years.

In preparing this year’s budget, the college was overly optimistic in its forecast. Tuition, fee, and housing revenue fell short of projections. We also inaccurately estimated the amount the college could expect to be reimbursed by the state for employee fringe benefits. All totaled, this revenue shortfall amounted to $20 million, or approximately 7% of our budget.

To address this deficit, we reduced operating costs by $11 million. This included capturing salary savings from a hiring freeze and making cuts across all divisions. Additionally, we reduced the physical plant asset renewal budget by $4 million. The balance — approximately $5 million — will be taken from reserves.

We should not, of course, draw on reserves in FY25 or in future years, so we will begin our budgeting process for FY25 with a $5 million deficit. On top of that, we will need to account for the increased costs of services, supplies, and salaries, which brings our anticipated gap to $9 million. This challenge will require that we work together, thoughtfully and swiftly, to explore opportunities to enhance our offerings and, yes, to determine what may no longer be a priority for institutional investment. Having said all this, I want to reiterate my commitment to work collaboratively with you throughout this process. There will be no surprises.

Interim CFO Rich Schweigert and Deputy CFO Mark Mehler are developing budgeting protocols which will ensure we use more attainable projections in our budgets. We will thereby avoid a recurrence of the unexpected losses that we have recently experienced. Our budget and finance team will be in touch with departments across the campus to ensure you have the appropriate information and support to engage in accurate and planful budgeting moving forward.

I would like once again to thank you all for your efforts in helping us reduce expenses. As we work together to develop the FY25 budget and plan for future years, you should expect transparency from me, the Cabinet, and the college Treasurer’s Office. I will speak to these matters again by the end of this semester as I share more details of what I have learned through my listening tour meetings.

Thank you for working with me, and the entire senior administrative team, to make decisions that will lay a strong financial foundation for the future of our college.

With my best wishes and regards,

Michael A. Bernstein
Interim President