Annual facility costs for Yellowstone Building are estimated at $30,000  

Northwest College’s draft budget for fiscal year 2014-15 shows state funding will make up nearly half of the college’s total revenue for the coming year.

During fiscal year 2015, which begins July 1, state appropriations are expected to increase to $14,247,795, comprising 43.8 percent of the draft budget’s estimated $32,515,463 in anticipated revenue.

During fiscal year 2014, which ends June 30, the state provided $13,400,011 to Northwest College, accounting for 40.6 percent of the college’s total revenue.

In his budget summary, NWC Finance Director Sheldon Flom said the 2013 Legislature, acting on Gov. Matt Mead’s recommendation, reduced college funding by 6 percent for fiscal year 2014. That reduced state appropriations to Northwest this year by $727,000.

On the other hand, the state provided $150,000 in one-time funding last year, Flom told the NWC board last week.

“The 2014 Legislature restored some of the enrollment growth funding, and NWC will receive an additional $270,000 in FY15,” Flom wrote in his summary.

However, local revenues are anticipated to decrease by $72,000 due to a 1.75 percent decrease in Park County’s valuation due to lower mineral values.

This is the second consecutive year Park County’s valuation has declined. Last year, the county’s valuation dropped by $110,000, or 3 percent. However, in 2012, it increased by $300,000.

Flom said Sweetwater County, home to Western Wyoming Community College, and Goshen County, home to Eastern Wyoming Community College, both increased in valuation by 2 percent.

Because Sweetwater is a mineral-rich county, “we could get some additional revenue next year” through the recapture and redistribution process, he said. The recapture and redistribution formula was designed to equalize local funding for the state’s seven community colleges.

Tuition and fees also are expected to drop due to an anticipated decline in enrollment. Tuition and fees this year were budgeted at $4,676,158. For 2014-15, tuition is estimated to be about $4,494,340, a decline of 4 percent.

Flom estimates Northwest will receive $4,341,809 from restricted revenue sources, such as grants and scholarships. Another $4,553,427 in revenue is budgeted for the auxiliary fund, which is earmarked for student housing and meals and similar non-educational revenue and expenses.

An additional $70,250 from other income sources brings the total 2014-15 estimated revenue to $32,515,463 — down $488,602, or 2 percent, from the $33,004,065 budgeted for the year just ending.

On the expense side, $12,935,189 is budgeted for instructional programs next year, including $10,103,679 for instruction, $114,519 for public service, and $2,716,991 for academic support.

Spending on instructional programs budgeted for fiscal year 2014 totaled $12,798,944.

For other programs, approximately $2,719,710 will be spent on student services; $5,190,914 on institutional support, $2,564,922 for plant operations; $4,403,105 on scholarships and $90,878 on transfers, for a total of $14,969,529 for the 2014-15 fiscal year.

Other program expenses were budgeted at $15,490,363 for the current year.

Auxiliary fund expenses are anticipated to total about $4,475,077.

Flom said next year’s budget includes $30,000 in estimated additional expenses the college will incur with the addition of the Yellowstone Building. That money is needed to pay for utilities, cleaning and other physical plant expenses, he said.

This is a draft budget, and some changes will be made as additional information becomes available.

The board will review and vote on the finished version at its next meeting on July 14.

Sheldon Flom