$2.3 million from the College fund Balance reserve; and included a request for a 5%
increase in the County contribution, which translated to $1,988,438. e County
executive responded by recommending a 2.51% increase in the County contribution,
which translated to $1 million. As directed by the Board of Trustees and me as
President, the College’s administration worked diligently to advocate for the remaining
$988,438 in support from the County on behalf of our students. eventually, a
compromise was reached when the County agreed to contribute $500,000 to the
College’s capital budget to be allocated toward purchasing new technology equipment
for students. To address the revenue shortfall, the Board of Trustees authorized a
$500,000 reduction in its total operating budget request, as well as the use of
additional reserve funds of $488,438.
e College’s 2015-2016 operating budget also includes funding for positions to
address accreditation requirements: needs in Criminal Justice and Health information
Technology; Technology and Networking Support for information Technology;
custodial needs for the additional space provided at the william J. Lindsay Life
Sciences Building and clerical support for the Culinary Arts facility. it also enables us
to hire staff responsible for program planning and community outreach in anticipation
of the opening of our Health and wellness facility on the eastern Campus.
it is important to note that the guidelines from our accrediting body, the Middle
States Commission on Higher education, recommend that institutions have available
10% to 15% of the operating budget available in reserves. with this latest budget’s
use of the fund balance, our reserves will stand at approximately 8%.
As President, working with the Board of Trustees and the leadership from our
collective bargaining units, i continue to advocate for the implementation of a multi-
year plan for sustainable sponsor contributions. i believe such a plan would meet the
objective of keeping tuition affordable at Suffolk County Community College and
enabling students and their parents the ability to plan ahead for the cost of tuition.
rough a six-month long concerted effort that began in January, which was bolstered
by the expertise and passion of our faculty, students and administrators, we gave
exceptional effort to advocating our elected officials in a manner that would ensure
that Suffolk County Community College had the resources necessary to continue
providing outstanding educational opportunities within a comfortable and safe
teaching and learning environment. i thank the entire college community for its
cooperation and assistance in this endeavor.
New Buildings and Improvements to Infrastructure
renovations at the riverhead Building were completed on schedule and the building
was available for classes on the first day of the fall 2014 semester. is was a major
achievement, given the extensive work that was performed in the building.
in September, the College hosted a site visit for the County Legislature's education
and information Technology Committee. e visit enabled the Committee’s members
to view the intersection near the South Coleman road entrance to the Ammerman
Campus, where we had requested traffic mitigation efforts in the form of a traffic
circle. e $450,000 capital appropriating resolution for the project had been tabled
by that committee. College administrators and students went on to advocate before
the members of the Committee to include this capital funding. i am happy to report
that design and construction funding has now been appropriated. our next step is to
issue an rfP for design services, which will be followed by construction next summer.
2014-2015 Review of Accomplishments
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e William J. Lindsay Building opened for spring semester classes.
Hundreds of guests and members of Legislator Lindsay's family
attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Our students will benefit from state-of-the-art labs and
new equipment.
