County budget would keep WCC tuition flat

Tuition for nearly 14,000 students at Westchester Community College will remain flat next year, if County Executive Robert P. Astorino’s proposed budget is approved by the Board of Legislators.

“The last thing we want to do is place an additional burden on people who are working hard to improve their economic position through education,” Astorino said in a press release. “So it was vital that we approached next year”™s budget with the mindset that we are not going to increase tuition costs for thousands of Westchester families. And at the same time, the county will increase its financial commitment to Westchester Community College, ensuring that it remains one of America”™s top community colleges.”

WCC”™s annual spending plan for the upcoming academic year includes a $122.3 million operating budget, $28.7 million which will be subsidized directly by county tax dollars, up from $27.8 million in the 2012-13 academic year.

The proposed budget provides $1.1 million to fund two projects including a planning study that would assess the current and future infrastructure needs of the college campus and roof replacements on various campus buildings.

This is the fourth year in a row that Astorino has proposed a county operating budget with no tax increase.