The Jefferson College Board of Trustees recently approved a balanced budget that projects the school both bringing in and spending $40.25 million this fiscal year, which began July 1 and runs through June 30, 2026.
Board members voted unanimously June 12 to approve the budget.
“We have worked very hard to ensure a strong financial position for the college, and I’m fortunate to work with great (staff) in the business office in developing the budget,” said Dena McCaffrey, the college president.
She said those who set the college budget always do so with a worst-case scenario in mind.
“It has been a few years since we had a balanced budget, but we always budget conservatively,” she said. “For our current fiscal year (FY25), we budgeted for a $2 million deficit, but we are actually ending with a $1 million surplus. We’re really proud of the work we’ve done to ensure the long-term financial health of the college.”
When the trustees approved last year’s budget in June 2024, it called for revenues of $37.2 million and expenditures of $39.6 million, a projected deficit of $2.4 million.
John Linhorst, the vice president of finance and administration, said it’s been at least 10 years since the college projected a balanced budget.
“For the first time in over a decade, the institution is presenting a balanced budget for approval,” he said. “This achievement reflects a comprehensive, campuswide effort to evaluate and align financial priorities strengthening fiscal health while establishing a strategic foundation for the upcoming year.”
The FY26 budget includes a 2.9 percent tuition increase, which will generate an estimated $375,000 in revenue, Linhorst said.
McCaffrey said the FY26 budget projects the college will end the fiscal year with $14 million in unrestricted reserve funds, which is about 35 percent of the college’s annual revenues.
When the board approved the FY25 budget, it projected $10,644,893 in unrestricted funds, or 28.6 percent of the school’s annual revenue. McCaffrey said college leaders strive to keep a minimum of 15 to 20 percent of annual revenue in its reserve funds.
Linhorst said ending the FY25 budget year with a $1 million dollar surplus instead of the projected $2 million deficit played a large part in the ending reserve balance.
He added that an increase in Area Technical School student enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year also added to district revenues in the FY25 budget.
Employee raises
The FY26 budget includes an overall increase of $550,000 to cover the cost of pay raises for full- and part-time salaries, including a 3-percent cost-of-living raise and a 2-percent step raise for full-time faculty and administrators. Other employees will receive cost-of-living raises ranging from .33 percent to 3.74 percent, plus a 2-percent step increase.
Linhorst said the FY26 budget calls for 331 full- and part-time employees.
In addition to those full- and part-time employees, the college employs hundreds of adjunct instructors, with the number of adjuncts varying from month to month, McCaffrey said.
In 2023, the college produced 792 W-2 forms for all employees, Linhorst said.
McCaffrey’s salary increased from $210,120 in FY25 to $230,100 in the FY26 budget, a larger raise than other administrators received. However, her raise was affected by a change in how a portion of her salary is categorized, Linhorst said.
“The variance in compensation is due to an allowance for vehicle travel related to the president role, which has historically been included as a separate component of the president’s compensation package,” he said. “Beginning in FY26 and moving forward, this allowance has been consolidated into the president’s base salary.”
Capital projects
The FY26 budget includes $8.8 million in planned capital project expenditures, with those funds paying for all or part of several projects. The following is a list of some of the major expenditures for capital improvements.
■ $3,957,000 for renovations to the Fine Arts building on the Hillsboro campus. “The Fine Arts renovation and addition project is scheduled to be completed in December,” Linhorst said.
■ $950,000 for a “refresh” of the Student Center lower level restrooms and Viking Room on the Hillsboro campus. “Designated as a refresh project due to the distinct functions within the area, the lower-level restrooms in the Student Center will undergo remodeling to align with the design and accessibility enhancements recently implemented in other Hillsboro Campus restrooms. The Viking Room renovation will reimagine the space to improve functionality for events,” he said.
■ $800,000 for work at the Field House east annex on the Hillsboro campus. “This project focuses on upgrading infrastructure within the facility that previously supported the pool. The improvements will ensure the space is structurally sound while positioning it for future development as part of the college’s long-term campus planning efforts. As you may recall, the pool was closed several years ago due to safety concerns and has remained out of service since that time. As an initial step toward repurposing the area for a future strategic investment, the pool will be infilled to create a safe, functional surface. This first phase of the project focuses on building infrastructure improvements to ensure the space is secure and suitable for use by our student-athletes for indoor practice. Once this phase is complete, long-term planning for the space will be developed in collaboration with key stakeholders from across the institution,” Linhorst said.
■ $350,000 for a track concession and restroom stand at the Hillsboro campus. “This is a new structure that will be installed near the track/soccer field in the northwest corner of the parking lot. The building will house a small concession area and a number of fully accessible restrooms. This building will permanently replace the portable restroom facilities that are currently on the site,” he said.
■ $230,000 for an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant entry to the Arts and Sciences II building on the Hillsboro campus.
■ $125,000 in maintenance and appliance and furniture replacement at the Viking Woods Student Housing on the Hillsboro campus.
■ $906,000 in other infrastructure repair and replacement projects at both the Hillsboro and Arnold campuses, Linhorst said.
Margie Passmore, the board president, praised staff members for their work on the new budget.
“The board is very happy that Dr. McCaffrey and her team worked very hard – there’s a lot of give and take on this budget,” she said. “It’s a balanced budget. I’m just very happy, personally, to approve a balanced budget, which I know sometimes is hard to do these days.”