Tuition hike contemplated after county cuts funding to WCCC

A tuition increase could be in store for Westmoreland County Community College students this fall after a $1 million cut in funding from the county, the school’s board of trustees chairman said Friday.

“As of now we don’t want to raise tuition, but everything is on the table,” said board Chairman William Kerr.

Westmoreland commissioners slashed the annual allocation to the community college in the county’s 2024 budget. The county for decades has provided funding to help pay the school’s general operating expenses and to cover its debt.

In 2023, the county allocated more than $3.56 million to WCCC, including more than $2 million for general operations. Commissioners allocated a total of $2.5 million for 2024, with just $1 million earmarked for general spending.

Kerr said the county allocation is used to subsidize tuition for Westmoreland residents who attend the school, which has its main campus near Youngwood, satellite buildings in Latrobe, Murrysville and New Kensington, and branch campuses in Fayette and Indiana counties.

“Because of the county funding, we have been able to hold tuition to $140 per credit for county residents,” Kerr said. “We now have to examine and explore all opportunities, and there now has to be other adjustments to our budget and we’ll have to take other steps.”

WCCC’s budget operates on a fiscal year, so the funding cut isn’t expected to have a major impact until later this summer. The college’s trustees are expected to consider a new budget and tuition rates for the 2024-25 school year in June.

According to data posted by the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, WCCC’s tuition rates rank as the sixth-lowest among the 15 community colleges in the state.

WCCC’s budget for the 2023-24 school year is about $34 million with an enrollment of nearly 4,300 students.

In addition to funding from the county, the school’s revenues included more than $12.5 million from the state and $13.8 million through tuition payments and fees from students.

WCCC spokesman Janet Corrinne-Harvey said the school has $28 million in reserves for unexpected emergencies and long-range planning. She said WCCC is required to have a fund balance of at least $14 million to cover four months of operations in order to retain its accreditation.

“The funding cut (from the county) will have a tremendous impact. It could have a severe negative impact on the coming budget. These dollars coming from our sponsor have a direct impact on how it subsidizes tuition for in-county residents,” Kerr said.

Commissioners defended the funding cut as a necessary step to balance a county budget that required imposition of a 32.5% tax increase this year. It was the first tax increase in county property taxes since 2019.

In addition to the slashed funding for the community college, the commissioners’ budget included the elimination of annual funding allocations to Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. and Redevelopment Authority. The WCIDC received $333,612 in 2023 and the Redevelopment Authority received $25,000.

Both agencies received no funding from the county’s general operating budget in 2024.

Other allocations, including payments to the Westmoreland County Airport Authority and Westmoreland County Transit Authority, local libraries and the conservation district, were unchanged from previous levels.

“When the board looked at the numbers, we saw that WCCC had a fund balance of $30 million. Because they had that in reserve, they would be able to make do for a year. This is a temporary thing, and I feel that we can go back to where it was at in the prior years,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes.

Commissioner Ted Kopas said WCCC’s surplus was key to allowing the county to cut funding this year.

“Based on their finances, they can cover it,” Kopas said.