LCCC approves budget with no tuition or fee increase, adds shorter sessions

NANTICOKE — The Luzerne County Community College Board of Trustees approved a 2021-22 budget totaling $44.7 million with no increase in tuition or fees Tuesday night. President Thomas Leary also announced the additions of 12-week and 7-week sessions for more student flexibility, and a program providing grants of up to $3,000 a year for eligible full-time students.

Leary touted the various moves as efforts to help students who may be struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic. Along the same lines, he announced the college is working with area school districts to provide summer camps for high school students who may need to recover some learning loss over the last year or otherwise assist them academically, including with some hands-on learning at the campus.

The budget calls for just under $42 million in operating expenditures and nearly $2.8 million in capital expenditures. Auxiliary budgets for things like food service, bookstore and student activities, add about $0.8 million.

Salaries and benefits make up about 80% or the operating budget, with medical insurance costs projected to increase by about 7%. The college expects about $12.5 million in state funding, $5.9 million from Luzerne County, and about $18.4 million in tuition and fees.

The shorter sessions will run concurrently with the traditional 15 week sessions, starting later, so students could take the 15 week session, wait a few weeks to take the 12 week session, or wait a few more to take the seven-week session if the courses they want are offered in a given session. All three sessions will still have the same number of hours per class, compressing more time into fewer weeks.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Cheryl Lesser said the 12-week sessions are intended primarily for students who may need to start later than the 15 week session, and that the 7-week session serves that purpose but also could be used by students who need to “restart” work they may not have been able to complete previously.

The college awarded scholarships and emergency funds this school year totaling $371,000, which Leary said was the most in the history of the school, and he thanked donors for being as generous as they were during the pandemic. He also announced grants for eligible students. Full time students could get $1,500 per semester for a total of $3,000 a year, while part-time students can get $750 per semester for an annual total of $1,500.

The board also:

• Awarded a contract to replace the three digital signs at college entrances to Bartush Signs at a total cost of $81,244.

• Awarded a contract for atrium renovation at the Technology Center to Champion Builders at a cost of $253,000, replacing skylights that have begun to leak. Another $12,665 is set aside for contingencies, and hemmler +camayd architects will get $21,251 for their services on the project.

• Approved the purchase of a new Ford F-250 truck at a cost of $36,550 from Whitmoyer Ford, Inc.