Governing board reviews possible fee hikes
Joseph Starkloff
Spencer Morgan, MCC student government president, spoke during the Feb. 23 governing board meeting concerning possible fee increases.
Morgan said he wanted to “commend the board for not raising tuition,” but was also concerned about the 44-page fee proposal. According to Morgan, MCC accounted for 17 pages of the possible fees.
“There are a number that are dropping from $5 to $3. but a significant larger number of fees are increasing from anywhere from $5 to $350. for a single class. and that’s a significant amount of money that we’re now charging our students,” Morgan said.
He stated that student involvement would be significant.
“Things like this are directly pulling from our pocket book, so we need to make sure we are active in voicing our opinion about them,” Morgan said.
Chancellor Rufus Glasper stated that the proposed fees were a prerequisite for the operation of specific classes, and not a measure to be taken to raise revenue for the colleges.
“A fee is designed to be a fee for. the cost of conducting that particular program at that level. it’s designed for (the student) to get something for it,” Glasper said.
He also stated that the colleges suggested the fee changes themselves, and that the 17 pages in the proposal were generated by MCC.
The fees will be voted on when greater detail about them is provided to the board.
The future of government funding given to Maricopa Community Colleges was also covered during the meeting.
Patricia Hill, director of state and local government relations for Maricopa, stated that budget deficits for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 fiscal years could have an eventual impact on the funding giving to Maricopa community colleges.
A current solution for part of the budget deficit is a sales tax hike, which will be placed on the May 18 special election ballot.
Hill stated that possible funding changes were currently unknown if the tax hike failed to pass.
Glasper also gave his first report about the implementation of “21st Century Maricopa” during the meeting. Board members Colleen Clark and Randolph Lumm were not present at the meeting
