NWACC Facing Budget Challenges as School Year Begins

BENTONVILLE—When fall semester classes begin Monday at NorthWest Arkansas Community College, the only numbers most students will probably have on their mind are their grades and tuition.

College officials will have much larger numbers to consider, namely the community college budget. The budget for fiscal year 2013 received NWACC Board of Trustee approval in June and went into effect July 1.

College officials are projecting a shortfall for the year and are working to find ways to decrease the gap between revenue and expenditures.

Steven Hinds, executive director of public relations and marketing, said the college projects more than $38.9 in revenue and about $41.1 million in expenditures, creating a deficit of more than $2.2 million. The Board must also keep a 7.5% reserve, to the tune of $2.9 million. That money is used if there is an emergency that suddenly halts the college’s funding and allows the college to continue operating for a short time.

The college has a $6 million reserve, which is carryover from previous budget years. A college’s reserves are used in situations such as a shortfall or sometimes to make large one-time purchases. That money will be used to make up the shortfall, however much it ends up being next summer when the books close on fiscal year 2013.

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