Announcement Made on June 2, 2026:
Last Updated: June 2, 2026
HACC Adopts Revised 2026-27 Budget and Related Resolutions
On June 2, 2026, the Board of Trustees approved a revised 2026-27 operating budget of $123.8-million that reduces the projected operating deficit to $0.8 million, representing $9.0 million in identified savings against the pre-intervention baseline - nearly twice the savings adopted on April 7, 2026. The College remains firmly committed to returning to a structurally balanced budget by fiscal year 2027-28.
At its June 2, 2026, meeting, the Board of Trustees also approved resolutions supporting (1) continuous academic and workforce alignment, (2) the sale or lease of seven buildings as part of real estate consolidation and (3) collegewide service contracts to align operating costs with the College's rightsized footprint. Together, these resolutions form a strategy to deliver structural balance by fiscal year 2027-28.
"The work between April and June has nearly doubled our identified savings. Significant work remains, but the College’s leaders have demonstrated that disciplined stewardship combined with the right structural changes can position HACC for long-term sustainability while continuing to put students first," said HACC President and CEO John J. "Ski" Sygielski, MBA, Ed.D.
The Board of Trustees approved three additional resolutions extending the rightsizing strategy beyond the actions adopted on April 7, 2026. These resolutions position the College to return to a structurally balanced budget by fiscal year 2027-28.
Academic and Workforce Alignment
The Board affirmed its support for continuous, systematic review of the College's academic and workforce portfolio - including programs, organizational structures, staffing models, workloads, scheduling practices and resource allocation strategies.
To date:
- More than 100 programs have been assessed
- More than 14 programs have been restructured or phased out
- More than four meta majors have been introduced to improve student pathways, reduce excess credits and strengthen completion
Importantly, 97% of academic-credit students are unaffected by these changes. Also, no currently enrolled student will be left without a plan to complete their HACC program.
Real Estate Consolidation
The Board approved the following:
- Sale or lease of seven buildings
- Consolidation of instructional and administrative operations into retained buildings
- Renovations to retained facilities funded by sale proceeds after satisfaction of outstanding debt obligations and related transaction costs
- Continued exploration of additional property sale or lease opportunities subject to further Board approval
The seven buildings approved for sale or lease are:
- Gettysburg Campus Building and associated parcels
- Harrisburg Campus Midtown 1 building and associated parcels
- Harrisburg Campus John N. Hall Technology Center and associated parcels
- Harrisburg Campus Ted Lick Administration Building and associated parcels
- Lancaster Campus Main Building and associated parcels
- York Campus Cytec building and associated parcels
- York Campus William F. Goodling Center and associated parcels
All five HACC campuses will remain open. The full consolidation plan is expected to be executed in phases over the next couple of years, beginning with the York Campus in summer 2026.
Operating Efficiencies
The Board approved collegewide service contracts that align custodial and maintenance service costs with the College's rightsized operating footprint. These contracts replace the prior fixed-cost model with a flexible, service-based approach that scales with campus utilization, course schedules and consolidated operations.
Announcement Made on April 7, 2026:
HACC Adopts 2026-27 Budget
Last updated: April 7, 2026
On April 7, 2026, the Board of Trustees of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, adopted a $128-million operating budget for 2026-27.
Compounding structural pressures could have resulted in a deficit approaching $10 million without intervention. Those structural pressures include three consecutive years of flat state appropriations; a projected enrollment decline of 1.8%; the first budget cycle reflecting the full financial impact of a newly ratified collective bargaining agreement with the faculty union; an 11% increase in employee healthcare costs; and rising operating expenses driven by inflation. These pressures converged simultaneously and left the College with a clear choice: act decisively now or face a deficit that would deepen in subsequent years.
Through a deliberate combination of short- and long-term initiatives, the College has reduced that exposure by half, limiting the 2026-27 deficit to $5 million. This reflects the kind of disciplined, forward-looking stewardship that responsible institutions must exercise in periods of transition. The College remains firmly committed to returning to a structurally balanced budget no later than 2027-28.
“HACC’s Board of Trustees expects the College to present a fiscally-responsible budget each year. The 2026-27 budget reflects a long-standing practice of accountable budget stewardship as well as our ongoing commitment to putting and serving students first,” said HACC President and CEO John J. “Ski” Sygielski, MBA, Ed.D.
