Proposed agreement reduces local school districts' contributions to HACC

Boards of 22 sponsoring districts to vote over next several weeks on four-year pact HARRISBURG – Relief is likely in sight for 22 school districts in Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties who contribute to the tuition and fees their students pay to attend HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College.

The boards of those sponsoring districts are scheduled to vote over the next several weeks on an agreement that reduces their contributions to the College’s operating expenses over the next four fiscal years.

The agreement, which continues the amended agreements of 2008 and 2011, was negotiated over several months by members of a sub-committee of the delegate body that includes school board members and superintendents from the sponsoring districts. HACC representatives include John J. “Ski” Sygielski, Ed.D., College president; John M. Eberly, College vice president of finance, and Cynthia Doherty, Ph.D., interim vice president of the Harrisburg Campus.

If approved, the school districts’ contributions to the College’s operating expenses will be reduced from an aggregate of $8 million in 2013-14 to $6 million in 2014-15, $5 million in 2015-16 and $4 million in 2016-17.

Capital contributions will remain at an aggregate of $1 million for the next three fiscal years and then increase to $1.5 million per year starting in 2016-17.

According to terms of the agreement, acceptance by the districts constitutes approval of HACC’s operating budgets during the next four fiscal years.

HACC is one of 14 community colleges in Pennsylvania funded through a combination of student tuition, local sponsorship and a state appropriation. State legislation defines local sources as school districts, municipalities, counties or any combination.

The agreement does not affect the tuition paid by HACC students who live outside the 22 sponsoring districts. Currently, a student in a sponsored district pays $168.50 per credit in tuition and fees; in-state residents pay $229 per credit in tuition and fees.

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About HACC:
HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, was established in 1964 as the commonwealth’s first community college. HACC offers nearly 200 associate career and transfer degrees, certificate and diploma programs to 21,000 credit students in a 10-county area with regional campuses in Harrisburg, Gettysburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York, and an online Virtual Campus that reaches students on a global scale. In addition, HACC is Central Pennsylvania’s premier workforce development provider with thousands of students enrolled in areas such as job training, customized company contracts, public safety, healthcare, technology, trades and computer training. For more information, go to www.hacc.edu or call 1-800-ABC-HACC (1-800-222-4222).