Insurance drives CVTC budget

Ran Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Insurance drives CVTC budget

By Keighla Schmidt
Leader-Telegram staff

Increasing health insurance costs combined with student population growth add up to a 5.47 percent increase in the proposed 2007-08 Chippewa Valley Technical College budget.
Proposed expenditures for next school year total $79 million, up from $74.9 million in 2006-07. The CVTC board of directors will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday to discuss budget specifics.
Health care costs are projected to rise 18 percent and are the driving force behind budget increases that have become commonplace during the past decade, CVTC President Bill Ihlenfeldt said. More than $7 million of the CVTC budget is spent on health insurance and 85 percent of expenditures are personnel related, he said.
"It's just going to get worse," Ihlenfeldt said. "It's become a real burden for public and private institutions, not just technical colleges."
The proposed tax levy, $31.7 million, represents a 3.9 percent increase from 2006-07. The increase is driven in part by enrollment increases of 5 to 15 percent annually, the highest growth rate among Wisconsin technical colleges.
To keep tax increases in check, Ihlenfeldt said the college is attempting to curb rising health care costs, in part by outsourcing some jobs.
Also, additional online course offerings have reduced the number of teachers, which will decrease those costs, he said.
Full-time employees given health care benefits were asked this year if they would voluntarily pay a part of their premium, despite their contracts saying CVTC pays 100 percent of their health care.
Ihlenfeldt said the college "operates on a business model" to keep up with the growing population's desire to take classes at CVTC. That model has led to maintaining quality during rapid growth, he said.
"Many years we lay people off. We know it's hard the people affected. But we must if we are to realign the college's resources according to the industry and workforce needs," he said.
The college must balance requests for added classes with rising expenses, a juggling act that has become increasingly difficult, Ihlenfeldt said.
"We routinely add programs and delete programs ... it's part of strategic planning," he said.
The proposed budget for 2007-2008 eliminates three programs, modifies one and adds four new programs.
It also adds 26.46 new positions while eliminating 27 jobs. Of those, 19 involve layoffs.
Board of Directors Treasurer, Marilyn Jaskot said she's "pretty sure" she'll approve the budget.
"It balances out," Jaskot said.
The proposed 3.9 percent levy increase, Jaskot said, is smaller than it was initially and represents fiscal prudence by the board.
"We're trying to be as effective as we can with our money," Jaskot said. "But we're still growing."
Fellow board members Susan Kumferman and Terry Bilderback refused to say whether they would approve the budget.
Growing and being cost effective requires attention to detail, Ihlenfeldt said.
"We look at each position to see if it can be done more cost effectively," he said. "We're going to grow and we're going to do it at the lowest cost possible."