ESCANABA — In response to an expected decline in state funding, Bay College has cut approximately $1.8 million from its budget for its 2020-21 fiscal year. Bay’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year was approved in a special meeting of the Bay College Board of Trustees Monday.

The college’s budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year includes $9,068,069 in operating revenue, $20,433,127 in operating expenses and $11,366,906 in non-operating revenue. Bay’s new fiscal year will start on July 1.

A summary of Bay’s 2020-21 budget stated the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic posed challenges in the development of the budget.

“As a result, necessary adjustments had to be made to assure the college remains viable,” the summary stated.

Bay College President Laura Coleman said Michigan is expecting the pandemic to have a significant economic impact.

“The state is down almost $3 billion this year in revenue, and they’re expecting up to $3 billion down next year,” she said.

The state is currently unsure how much it will receive from income taxes, among other financial challenges. This will likely have an impact on funding for Bay College.

“We are anticipating declines in state appropriations,” Coleman said.

In the summary of Bay’s 2020-21 budget, it was stated the budget is based on the ­assumption that state appropriations will decline by 15 percent. A five percent decrease in student enrollment at Bay was also assumed.

The college has made sizable budget cuts for its next fiscal year.

“We cut $1.8 million out of our budget,” Coleman said.

She went on to say cuts were made across the board, impacting every department of the college.

“We put forth to our employees an early-retirement package they could accept,” Coleman said.

Nine individuals, including members of the college’s faculty and staff, accepted the package. According to Coleman, this represented about eight percent of Bay’s full-time faculty and staff.

Other adjustments include:

– Not replacing positions when possible

– Eliminating positions

– Moving positions to part-time

– Temporarily suspending the Supplemental Instruction program

– Limiting student employees to federally-sponsored work-study students

– Implementing printing quotas for employees

– Minimizing employee travel and conference attendance

Bay is also set to raise its tuition rates for the upcoming school year. Tuition rates per contact hour for residents of Delta County were increased from $129 to $135.

“When you compare that to the universities, we are still anywhere from 25 percent of the universities to 35 percent,” Coleman said.

Tuition rates for residents of Dickinson County were increased from $190 per contact hour to $199 per contact hour, tuition rates for in-state residents were increased from $221 per contact hour to $231 per contact hour, and tuition rates for out-of-state residents were increased from $270 per contact hour to $282 per contact hour.

Despite these cost-saving measures, Coleman said Bay is working to keep student success at the center of its operations.

“Bay College continues to be focused on our mission, vision and priorities of student success, committed success and culture of success,” she said.

The Delta County property tax millage rate to be levied for Bay’s 2020-21 fiscal year was also discussed at Monday’s meeting.

“We went with our full millage,” Coleman said.

The college’s millage will be levied at a rate of 3.3076 mills (about $3.31 per $1,000 in taxable value), which Coleman said is unchanged from 2019-20.

A public hearing on the budget and property tax millage rate took place during Monday’s special meeting, which was held in the Joseph Heirman University Center. No comments were made during the hearing.

“There was no public people there,” Coleman said.

In a regular meeting held shortly after the special meeting, the board:

– heard about the National Junior College Athletic Association’s announcement that its sports will continue in the 2020-21 school year with social distancing measures.

– approved revisions and deletions to its policies on campus safety and security on first reading.

– heard a legal opinion from the college attorney.