SINCLAIR CONSIDERS TUITION HIKE, FACULTY, STAFF RAISES

Trustees to vote on budget, which includes raises for faculty, staff.

Sinclair Community College’s board of trustees is expected to vote today on the school’s 2018 budget, which includes a tuition increase for students and a pay raise for faculty and staff.

Sinclair’s board could vote on the school’s $136.2 million budget for next year at a meeting this morning in Building 12 of the college’s downtown Dayton campus.

A potential tuition increase is contingent upon approval of the state budget, House Bill 49. If Gov. John Kasich signs the bill into law, it would allow colleges to increase tuition by $10 per credit hour.

Sinclair’s proposal would increase tuition by $10 per credit hour, but that increase would be waived for people taking classes this fall. For spring 2018, Sinclair would waive $3 of that increase, meaning students would not see their tuition increase until next year and by just $7 per credit hour, according to the proposal.

Sinclair officials take the idea of tuition increases “very seriously” and that’s why officials would want to increase it in a way that does not hit students all at once, according to spokesman Adam Murka.

“We understand that. We’re an access institution and we understand that we deal with a really diverse set of students,” Murka said. “We want to invest in programs that are going to help our students and we want to invest in things that are going to increase student completion rates. But, we want to maintain our affordability and quality.”

If approved, the spring tuition increase would net the school around another $850,000 in revenue next year, according to the proposal. The money will go toward bettering “job pathways” and increasing advising, among other services for students.

Sinclair had just under 18,000 students enrolled last spring and

the tuition increase would apply to all in-county and outof-county students, Murka said.

The last time Sinclair increased tuition was in the summer of 2014. Sinclair tuition has increased just 14 times since 1990, Murka said.

The tuition increase comes a few months after Sinclair announced it would increase its auxiliary fee by $35 along with individual course fees. Those increases got the school around another $1.6 million in revenue.

Separately, Sinclair’s board could approve pay raises for the college’s full-time faculty and staff.

Full-time faculty will be eligible for a 2.5 percent raise and some could receive a “salary adjustment” based on promotions or individual performance, according to the proposal. Staff will also be eligible for a 2.5 percent raise based on performance and position while others could receive a “one time award” of 2 percent of their base salary, according to the proposal.

All part-time employees will receive a 2.5 percent pay raise, if the proposal is approved by trustees as is. All of the raises and salary adjustments combined will cost the school around $2.7 million more, meaning Sinclair will spend around $98 million on personnel.

Sinclair employs around 3,200 people, according to the college’s website.

Sinclair trustees will also consider a resolution asking the Montgomery County auditor to certify how much revenue a renewal of the school’s 10-year, 3.2 mill Montgomery County levy would generate. At the current rate, the levy is projected to bring in around $28 million in annual revenue for Sinclair and makes up about 20 percent of the college’s funding, according to board documents.

The levy expires in December 2018 and state law would allow Sinclair to place a renewal on the ballot up to one year and two months before it runs out.

Although Sinclair board documents state that revenue certification is the “first official step” in determining whether to renew a levy, Murka said no determination has been made on if or when the college will ask for a levy renewal.