NIC trustees approve tuition increase

Discussion about a tuition increase had some North Idaho College trustees asking a million-dollar question Wednesday evening.

The 3.1 percent tuition increase trustees approved Wednesday would leave the college at least $1 million short of what it needs to fund a 6 percent salary increase for employees and cover other expenses, according to figures presented at the board meeting.

“How do we do this?” Trustee Judy Meyer said.

President Michael Burke had an answer: The college has the ability to levy up to $3.5 million in “foregone taxes” from Kootenai County landowners, taxes it could have collected in the past but chose not to. Recovering $1 million of that money would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $14 a year, Burke said.

“I do not make this suggestion lightly,” Burke said.

The college estimated it needs to increase salaries by at least 6 percent a year for the next six years to bring NIC up to par with other institutions. Burke said the college’s salary scale already lags behind other schools.

“When we fall farther behind, it’s like compound interest,” Burke said. Increasing energy costs, property acquisition and the cost of opening the new Health and Sciences building will further burden the budget, he said.

Trustees Mic Armon and Meyer said they had reservations about using foregone taxes, which they view as similar to a savings account.

“Most people don’t dip into their savings account to pay their bills,” Armon said.

Board Chairman Rolly Williams said the college needs to look to taxpayers for help instead of continually raising tuition and fees. The percentage of the budget that comes from tuition continues to climb, while taxpayer contributions have steadily declined, he said.

“We’ve been hitting the students so hard, it’s counterproductive,” Williams said.

Trustee Christie Wood said she thinks the college is headed down a slippery slope by continuing to increase tuition. Wood said she supports taking enough foregone taxes to “keep tuition affordable” and provide salary increases to keep employees from leaving.

“They are the heart and soul of this campus,” Wood said.

Although trustees discussed plenty before unanimously approving the tuition increase, not a single student voiced concerns at Wednesday’s meeting. Several students spoke in favor of building a student recreation center, though.

Heather Erikson, president of the Associated Students of North Idaho College, revealed the results of a student advisory vote conducted this week. Erikson said 336 students said they would be willing to pay increased fees of $85 to $250 a semester toward the recreation center. She said 119 students voted against the recreation center.

Although ASNIC spoke to several classes and handed out fliers on the recreation center proposal, the votes represent a small portion of the 4,500 students enrolled. Erikson said she had received positive feedback from students.

Trustees will consider that proposal at a future meeting.