Board approves another tuition hike
Seven percent increase will help fund Education Corridor, raise cost for students to $1,133 per semester
Heidi Groover
Issue date: 5/5/08 Section: News
The Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to move forward in exploring ways to acquire funds to purchase the adjacent DeArmond Mill land for $10 million.
Re-affirming their commitment to a previously approved resolution, the board requested that college personnel work toward the purchase of the land.
Trustees will pursue foregone taxes and increase tuition 7.4 percent, from $1,055 to $1,133 a semester. NIC's plant fund budget includes $1.5 million to go toward the down payment on the 17-acre parcel of land.
The budget was read for the first time at the Wednesday board meeting, and final action is expected at the May 28 meeting.
While trustee Mic Armon said the college doesn't have all the answers to finding the rest of the needed funds, the board agreed that means should be explored.
"This is all starting to move and we have to be prepared," Armon said.
The mill is expected to close this month and complete a six-month cleanup to meet Environmental Protection Agency standards. Developer Marshall Chesrown is expected to purchase the land in November and has agreed to do a simultaneous closing with the college.
Along with $2.4 million in previously uncollected property taxes, the tuition increase would generate $535,000.
The Education Corridor project would create a conjoined NIC, University of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State College campus to meet students' needs, Armon said.
"We have a chance to buy 17 acres perfectly adjoined to the college and create continuity with programs on campus," he said, calling the land a "once-in-a-lifetime chance."
President Priscilla Bell said that although NIC, UI and LCSC have "a long history of creating pathways for students, there aren't as many as we need." She called purchasing the land "a very effective and efficient use of taxpayer resources."
Bell said the corridor would attract more traditional and non-traditional students, protect the beach and prepare a ready workforce for Coeur d'Alene's changing economy.
Re-affirming their commitment to a previously approved resolution, the board requested that college personnel work toward the purchase of the land.
Trustees will pursue foregone taxes and increase tuition 7.4 percent, from $1,055 to $1,133 a semester. NIC's plant fund budget includes $1.5 million to go toward the down payment on the 17-acre parcel of land.
The budget was read for the first time at the Wednesday board meeting, and final action is expected at the May 28 meeting.
While trustee Mic Armon said the college doesn't have all the answers to finding the rest of the needed funds, the board agreed that means should be explored.
"This is all starting to move and we have to be prepared," Armon said.
The mill is expected to close this month and complete a six-month cleanup to meet Environmental Protection Agency standards. Developer Marshall Chesrown is expected to purchase the land in November and has agreed to do a simultaneous closing with the college.
Along with $2.4 million in previously uncollected property taxes, the tuition increase would generate $535,000.
The Education Corridor project would create a conjoined NIC, University of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State College campus to meet students' needs, Armon said.
"We have a chance to buy 17 acres perfectly adjoined to the college and create continuity with programs on campus," he said, calling the land a "once-in-a-lifetime chance."
President Priscilla Bell said that although NIC, UI and LCSC have "a long history of creating pathways for students, there aren't as many as we need." She called purchasing the land "a very effective and efficient use of taxpayer resources."
Bell said the corridor would attract more traditional and non-traditional students, protect the beach and prepare a ready workforce for Coeur d'Alene's changing economy.
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posted 9/14/08 @ 9:26 AM PST
It's not unexpected. Costs are rising across the country. I've seen some universities, such as Arizona State University, cut athletic programs to save money. (Continued…)
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