Anne Arundel Community College asks council to maintain county executive's funding; cites enrollment gains and legal-cost pressure

Anne Arundel Community College asked the Anne Arundel County Council on May 11 to maintain the county executive's recommended operating funding for the college, saying enrollment and tuition increases helped offset other revenue losses but that unexpected legal and regulatory costs require an internal reallocation and an upcoming fourth-quarter transfer.

The request came during the college's budget presentation to the council. Presenter Melissa said tuition and fees are running above budget because enrollment exceeded current-year expectations; the college also factored a $5 tuition increase for FY27 that will collectively add roughly $2.5 million in revenue. The college had asked the county for a $4.8 million operating increase; the county executive's budget reflects a roughly $2.4 million increase, and college leaders said they were respectfully asking the council to maintain that level.

College leaders emphasized the largest portion of their $5.7 million proposed operating increase is compensation-related. To absorb a portion of the county cut, the college's board reduced a planned compensation pool from 6% to 4% and noted that both full- and part-time faculty are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Melissa said the college planned other miscellaneous adjustments and expected turnover and vacant positions to generate some savings, but pointed explicitly to rising outside counsel costs as a funding pressure: with one-and-a-half FTE vacancies in the in-house legal office the college said it is relying on external counsel for regulatory and Title IX matters.

93We are going to be requesting a fourth-quarter transfer to reallocate funds within existing categories to cover increased legal costs,94 Melissa told the council, asking members to factor that near-term request into their deliberations.

On capital needs, college leaders said they are concentrating on renovations rather than new construction. They described the Dragon Science building renovation as their top priority; cost estimates forced deletion of a planned addition that would have housed the math program, creating a new request for roughly $3.7 million to renovate space in the college's Careers Building so math classrooms can be relocated when the science building renovation completes.

Council members pressed college officials on the long-term state funding outlook. One councilmember asked when the state might return to the historical one-third state / one-third county funding model for community colleges; presenters said state formula changes and capped increases in the governor's budget mean the state share remains below the guideline and that full CAD-equivalent funding would have delivered roughly $5 million more to the college this year.

The presentation closed after a set of council questions about compensation comparisons, campus satellite services, and recruitment for skilled trades instructors. The college indicated it would follow up with more detail on the requested fourth-quarter transfer and on the math relocation plan.

The council took no formal action at the meeting; the college said it will return with the transfer request under the council's financial procedures.