CCBC president tells Baltimore County delegation college is ‘an economic powerhouse,’ asks support for governor’s budget and hold-harmless clause

Dr. Sandra Kertenaitis, president of the Community College of Baltimore County, told the Baltimore County delegation that CCBC is “an economic powerhouse” and urged support for the governor’s proposed community college budget and for reinstating a hold-harmless clause for smaller colleges.

Kertenaitis said CCBC served about 51,000 students last year and that roughly 98.3% of Baltimore County residents who attend CCBC did so tuition-free under the Maryland Promise and local promise programs. She told the delegation the college had about $2,800,000 this year to distribute in Maryland Promise scholarships and asked the delegation to support the governor’s recommendation to fully fund the Maryland College Promise Scholarship at $15 million.

Kertenaitis said CCBC is in year two of a three-year strategic plan called Momentum in Motion, is “leading with equity,” and is investing in workforce programs. She described program expansions at the Dundalk campus, including plans to increase welding training to support local reconstruction needs, and noted CCBC’s continuing-education and online enrollments, an honors college with about 150 students, and a transfer program that has enrolled roughly 1,000 students who move to four-year partners without loss of credit.

She also outlined requests to the delegation: support for the governor’s community college operating budget, consideration of reinstating a hold-harmless provision to help smaller colleges whose enrollments have dropped, a $6 million capital project request, and backing to fully fund the Maryland College Promise Scholarship. Kertenaitis said the college was grateful to receive level funding in the governor’s budget after an earlier proposal to cut CCBC by about $5 million had been reduced.

Delegation members thanked Kertenaitis for the briefing, asked clarifying questions about the tuition-free statistic, and expressed appreciation for CCBC’s role in workforce development. No formal delegation action or vote on the requests was recorded at the meeting.

CCBC’s presentation emphasized workforce outcomes and access: Kertenaitis highlighted that many CCBC students are older and part-time (she said the average age is about 37 and the majority attend part time), that about 83% of students live in economically underserved communities, and that continuing education and online courses remain sizeable portions of the student population. She credited the Maryland Promise and local scholarship programs for expanding tuition-free attendance for county residents.

The delegation did not take formal action at the meeting; Kertenaitis offered to follow up with members individually if they had additional questions.