COD officials look at budget with $2.5 million deficit - HANK BECKMAN, Sun times

The College of DuPage Board got its first look at the proposed 2014 budget May 16. While the college’s financial rating is good, challenges loom in the immediate future, challenges that may lead to an increase in tuition. At the core of the college’s potential problems is the failure of the state of Illinois to deliver on funding education, college officials said. “The state continues to be a significant challenge to the college,” said Thomas Glaser, senior vice president of finance and administration. Glaser told the board the state operating grant was cut for the 2014 budget by about $653,000 and will come to only $12.3 million total, far below the one-third of total funding it is supposed to provide. Other items in the proposed budget are increases in salaries by 3.55 percent and health insurance costs shooting up 14 percent. The 2014 operating fund sees a 3.8 percent increase in revenues for a total of $172.3 million, but expenses increased 4.1 percent to $174.8 million, leaving a deficit of about $2.5 million, which the college will cover by dipping into its fund balance. http://burrridge.suntimes.com/news/20168604-418/cod-officials-look-at-budget-with-25-million-deficit.html