CHENANGO COUNTY – With the new fiscal year a little more than a week away, Chenango County taxpayers continue to face increasing community college chargeback rates that county bookkeepers say can have a big impact on the local budget.
In October, the county received the community college chargeback rates for the 2014-2015 academic year that are set by SUNY. The rate and the number of students from Chenango County attending a specific school affects the county’s annual budget, explained County Treasurer William Craine, especially when it comes to limits imposed by the property tax cap.
“When the community college model started in the 1960s, the original deal was that the county pays a third, the parents and student pay a third, and the state pays a third,” Craine said.
But today, costs to parents and counties have increased while the state foots less at approximately 28 percent, putting more financial burden on counties and students
“The original formula is not what it use to be,” Craine added.
Chargeback rates in 2014 cost the county $1.2 million, approximately half of which covered the costs of tuition at Broome Community College. But county officials say there has also been increasing enrollment at other community colleges throughout the region. The 2015 county budget calls for $1.05 million for chargebacks plus nearly $20,000 carryover from the 2014 budget.
Given the increased pressure on the county to pay community college tuition rates, county officials question what this means for future budgets. Chargeback rates for 2015 alone account for approximately five percent of the local tax levy.
Chenango County is on the hook to continue paying these costs despite there being no community college in the county. Students with a Chenango address who attend community colleges outside the county – such as Broome, Herkimer, Mohawk Valley, or Tompkins community colleges – are subject to get assistance from Chenango County taxpayers.
“There is no 2 percent cap on these charges,” said Deputy County Treasurer Ardean Young. “The rate of tuition is based on sponsorship. If you have a sponsoring county and they approve a budget for the amount of the chargeback, then what’s legislated annually is based on that amount of sponsorship.”
In short, state approved chargeback rates are partially contingent on county sponsorship, Young said.
Just as discouraging, said Craine, is the increasing number of dual students in the county. Dual students are those who are in high school but also taking classes offered through community colleges. Often times, these courses are offered within the high school. Dual students have a double impact, said Craine, because in addition to costs of a public school, such as materials, instructors, and facility maintenance for which local taxpayers and state aid pick up the tab, the county’s also responsible for paying partial tuition for college courses. And since these courses are offered at no cost to students and parents, it puts more burden at the local level.
The county paid tuition for 115 dual students in 2010. With the growing popularity of community college courses offered in high school – namely through Tompkins Cortland Community College which issued more than 2,100 credit hours to dual students in Chenango County this year – that number skyrocketed to 548 dual students in 2014, accounting for nearly 23 percent of all chargeback costs.
Although the county continues to pay chargeback rates for community colleges, it’s backing SUNY Morrisville for similar opportunities at the Norwich City School District. SUNY credits are more likely to transfer to other schools, said Craine. And since the Morrisville extension is located in Norwich, there’s a benefit to having high school students take college courses there.
SUNY Morrisville is currently looking to expand its dual student program to other school districts in Chenango County in order to compete with community colleges.