The board of trustees unanimously approved the budget request Monday night. It is expected to be sent to County Manager Ken Windley today. The trustees will host a dinner for county commissioners on April 14 to talk about the local budget request.
The county's appropriation to RCC in the current fiscal year is about $1.2 million. The college's total budget is about $14.5 million. RCC is asking the county for $1.6 million during the 2003-04 school year.
RCC officials said the university needs the money for rent on three extension centers, repairs to campus buildings, automation of the telephone system and to replace three vehicles. The money would also help restore five positions lost during the last two years in the college's maintenance department. The college's off-site campuses have gone without maintenance and security because of budget restraints.
"Demand of our maintenance staff are very high," said Bobby Griffin, vice president for business services. "The limits of staff have been exceeded. It is almost impossible to schedule and take care of the maintenance and upkeep to the facilities."
In other business, the board voted to use a portion of money set aside for reversion to the state for employee bonuses.
Of the college's $14.5 million budget, 6 percent has been set aside in case the money needed to be returned to the state. RCC President Charles Chrestman said because the budget crunch was not as severe as originally predicted, RCC has only had to return $278,703 to the state.
"We were holding the other 3.82 percent waiting to see how things turned out," he said. "But we have sufficient funds to make it to the end of the year."
Chrestman said he wanted to provide all full-time employees with bonuses.
In other business:
- Chrestman told the board that the school will host a groundbreaking for its continuing education building in the COMtech park on Monday at 11 a.m. The public is invited to attend.
- An endowed scholarship will be established at RCC to honor the late Tupac Shakur. Billye Ammons, interim RCC Foundation director, said the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation has notified her office that it plans to make a sizable contribution to RCC for the scholarship. The Georgia-based foundation was started by the singer's mother, Afeni Shakur, a Lumberton native.
- The trustees plan to meet with the local legislative delegation on March 24 at 7 a.m. to talk about the budget and other state issues.
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