CCC increases budget to raise teachers' salaries

In a meeting lasting less than 10 minutes, the Clovis Community College Board of Trustees voted Wednesday morning to approve a series of budget adjustments for the current fiscal year and adopt a proposed 2004-2005 operating budget of $14.8 million.

In a summary statement on the proposed budget, CCC President Beverlee McClure wrote that next year’s budget plans for a slight increase in the current fund balance of $1.6 million. Revenues are projected to be $14,795,000 with expenditures of $14,791,388.

Mike Schmidt, vice president for finance and human resources for CCC, said the school’s faculty and professional staff will get a 2-percent increase in salary. The support staff, on hourly wages, will receive a 2.6-percent raise to their current salary. The increases are state funded, Schmidt said.

The school will also pay more in medical insurance costs for CCC employees making $30,000 or less. The increase payments will rise to 80 percent of medical premium cost. Last year the school paid between 65 and 75 percent of medical premium costs, Schmidt said.

The increase, thanks to a bill passed in the last Legislative session, will cost the college between $30,000 and $40,000 this fiscal year.

Schmidt said the school’s allocations for medical insurance will increase in coming years on a sliding scale.

CCC Board of Trustee member Gayla Brumfield said there are no major differences from last year’s budget, with the exception of a slight increase in money spent for teachers’ salaries.

“We feel really good about the budget, we think we are in a good situation actually,” Brumfield said.

Aspen Marshall, the board’s recording secretary, said the board had a three-hour study session on April 28 that was open to the public and the budget was discussed in detail at that meeting. The Wednesday morning session simply approved the draft earlier prepared by the study session, Marshall said.