PHOENIX

Maricopa Community Colleges won't seek tuition increase

Mary Beth Faller
The Republic | azcentral.com
  • The Maricopa community colleges say they won%27t increase tuition next year.
  • Gov. Doug Ducey's proposed budget would reduce state aid to the 10-college district.
  • If a tuition increase had been approved%2C it would be the sixth hike in 10 years.

Maricopa Community Colleges will not seek a tuition or property-tax increase for 2015-16 despite cutbacks in state aid, according to Debra Thompson, vice chancellor for business services.

A tuition discussion was on the agenda of the college board Tuesday night, more than a week after Gov. Doug Ducey cut funding to community colleges and state universities in his proposed budget.

This year, the 10-college district received $7.4 million in state aid — less than 1 percent of its revenue. For 2015-16, administrators are expecting to receive $4.7 million.

Chancellor Rufus Glasper told the governing board: "We stand today with approximately one-half of 1 percent funding from the state."

He said he's talked to lawmakers about the colleges becoming more "entrepreneurial" to replace state funding.

"We need to think about what it will mean to privatize some of our functions," Glasper said.

The proposed budget cuts the appropriation for the Maricopa County Community College District by more than 50 percent.

For this year, the 10-college district received about $7.4 million for its operating budget — less than 1 percent of its revenue. That reduction was partly because enrollment has declined. The colleges also received an extra $1.4 million specifically for science, technology, engineering and math programs.

In 2007, the state gave the district $69 million. The steep drop in state aid has led the colleges to increase tuition and property taxes. There were 130,000 students in the fall 2014 semester.

Ducey's budget also would reduce the appropriation to the three state universities by $75 million next year, but Arizona State University President Michael Crow vowed not to increase tuition for in-state students.

Any tuition increase for community colleges from the current $84 per credit would have set up a showdown with three new governing board members. Johanna Haver, John Heep and Jean McGrath ran together as a conservative bloc and campaigned on a promise to cut tuition.

Earlier this month, President Obama announced an initiative to provide two years of free community college tuition. The federal government would pay 75 percent and states would opt in to pay the remaining 25 percent.

State Rep. Reginald Bolding, D-Phoenix, has proposed such a bill, HB2487.

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