Bladen Community College is asking the Bladen County Commissioners for a 50 percent increase in local funding for next fiscal year. The institution has experienced "remarkable" growth in recent years, and the substantial increase is needed to provide facilities, utilities, maintenance, and insurance for the increased enrollment, college officials say.

Officials meet

BCC officials presented their case for an increase in funding to the commissioners at a 7 a.m. meeting they hosted Thursday morning at the college. State Senator Tony Rand and State Representative Edd Nye were also present at the meeting.

BCC President Dr. Darrell Page opened the meeting by giving an overall review of the college's growth and achievements in recent years.

Page explains growth, need for funding

"Mr. County Commissioners and other elected officials, we need your help," Page said. "We've experienced phenomenal growth in recent years."

Page explained briefly the growth in the institution and its impact on funding. He stated that state funding, which is linked to enrollment, has grown as the enrollment has grown. However, local funding has not kept pace with the growth, which has forced the college to delay maintenance projects and reduce its custodial staff in order to continue to accept new students.

He pointed out that Pell grants to students at BCC alone, bring nearly $3 million in federal funding into the county each year. He added that the college, including the Pell money, brings almost $4 million in federal funding into the county.

He also pointed out that the institution's budget more than doubled between 1991 and 2003. He added that the college is rated a Superior Performance College by the Community College System.

"We cannot continue to grow and serve unless we invest in our institution," Page said. "We have gotten state funding increases as FTE (full time equivalent) has grown, but we can't build buildings, we can't pay utilities, we can't maintain facilities without local funding."

Horne explains financial

position

BCC Vice-President of Fiscal Affairs Lloyd Horne told the group that state funding to the college has grown over $3 million-or 74 percent-since 1999. However, county dollars have grown only four percent over that period.

"And had I started in 2000, we would have actually decreased in funding over that period," Horne said.

The average local funding to community colleges across the state is 11 to 13 percent of their operating budget, Horne said.

"However, ours has been as low as four percent and presently is 5.1 percent," Horne said. "We will need $500,000 just to catch up with the low (that would take it to 10.4 percent). We can't operate buildings without maintenance and insurance. We can't operate buildings without electricity.

"We're down to two and one-half custodial positions for 16 buildings," Horne said. "We used to have seven positions with fewer facilities. We used some of our janitorial money to rent space at Spaulding Monroe in Bladenboro to accommodate our growth.

"We're having traffic jams in the mornings with the increased enrollment. Students are parking on the grass or anywhere they can find to park," Horne added. "Our two satellite campuses in Kelly and East Arcadia are killing our budget in the cost of gas. The buildings are old and have little insulation."

"We're using space in the old Elizabethtown Middle School facility, we're looking at space in the old Jones Building next to the fitness center, and we're using space in Spaulding Monroe (in Bladenboro) to accommodate the students we have," he said.

Horne said the college will also be starting construction on a new building for the industrial training center shortly.

"All of the things we're doing to accommodate the growing student enrollment will cost us more," he said. "It's going to take more money for utilities, supplies, insurance and maintenance."

Horne said the college had been forced to use bond money to replace large air conditioning units, repair roofs and for other general maintenance that would normally be funded with local funds.

"The bad news is that we're having to use bond money for maintenance issues rather than for new facilities-what it is supposed to be for," Horne said. "Down the road we (here in Bladen) will pay for this (use of the funds) by not having facilities we could have had, had we used the money for new construction."

"If we don't get it (the needed funding) this year, some of our students are going to be deprived of what they came to BCC to get," Horne added.

Lack of funds could close some facilities

The college now gets about $495,000 from the county. They will ask for an increase of $750,201, about a 50 percent increase, according to Horne.

Horne pointed out, in a later interview, that if something isn't done to increase funding, the college will be forced to close down some of its facilities because of OSHA, Insurance Department, Fire Marshall, or insurance company issues.

Continuing Education need explained

Dr. Barbara McCallum said growth in continuing education (primarily occupational education) and in curriculum programs has forced the college to look for space wherever it could to provide those courses. She pointed out that the continuing education program provides industry-specific training for workers throughout the county.

She said the school must have equipment in the training sites in order to use the facilities.

"The key thing is that we've got to find space to offer these classes," she added.

Myths dispelled

Page reiterated something Horne had addressed regarding the use of bond funds by saying, "I want to dispel two myths. The first has to do with the use of bond money. You're spending your future for bandaids.

"The second myth is that we should close down our satellite campuses in Kelly and East Arcadia and bring everything to the main campus. We can't do it. We don't have the space.

"We need your help to address these pressing issues," Page added.

Following the presentation, school officials took the commissioners and other guests on a tour of some of the facilities.

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