JJC renovation could raise tuition, taxes
JOLIET JUNIOR COLLEGE OFFICIALS ARE CONSIDERING WAYS TO FUND A $220 MILLION MASTER PLAN.
JOLIET -- Joliet Junior College is considering up to a 47 percent tuition increase or up to a $159 million tax referendum -- or a combination of both -- to fund its $220 million master plan.
The options were discussed at a special workshop Monday, but after no clear-cut solution emerged, the board tabled its vote pending more information from the administration. The board now plans to vote at its May 6 meeting.
The plan includes construction of a new nursing building on the main campus, eight new science labs, an expanded auto shop, a new culinary/hospitality facility at the City Center campus, a new campus center and library, and total renovation of all classrooms.
The full plan will cost $220 million, but the college is looking to raise $159 million; private and not-for-profit partnerships and other funding sources are expected to fund the remainder.
Administration recommends a plan to raise $70 million through a $3-per-credit-hour tuition increase each of the next four years and the remaining $89 million through a property tax increase request on November's ballot. Because of new growth in the district, the college expects to hold its tax rate firm, but if approved, taxpayers will pay a larger dollar share on their taxes because their property will be worth more.
The other options presented Monday include raising the full $159 million through a $9-per-credit-hour increase each of the next four years or raising the entire sum via a referendum request. That option will add $16 in 2010 to the yearly property tax bill of a home valued at almost $229,000 this year.
On Monday, Trustee Andrew Mihelich suggested the board increase tuition a full $36 in the first year, equating to a 47 percent increase, and seek approval from voters for an extra $89 million in property taxes. If the referendum passes, the board should rebate some tuition, Mihelich said. That plan, he said, would give the college the best interest rates and would "encourage people to come out and vote, no matter what way they decide."
Trustees Jeff May and Susan Block both said they're against any referendum request.
"We have to live within our means just like you do at home," Block said.
"I'm not going to support a tax increase, ... because I don't think it's the right time," May said. "The taxpayers don't want it. It will lose by about 3-to-1, and we'll be back here looking at Plan B."
Board Vice Chair Dick Dystrup, however, said he supports asking the public to fund a larger burden of the college's costs.
"All of us have prided ourselves on the fact that there was balance; our students have not been asked to fund the full burden," Dystrup said.
JJC's current tuition is $76 per credit hour. If the board chooses the full $36 increase for the master plan and the $4 proposed budget increase, that would equate to a 52 percent increase.