From Beaufort County Community College

When the N.C. General Assembly passed its budget in September, it allocated $10 million to be shared by the state’s 58 community colleges. Beaufort County Community College’s share of that funding is $88,069, and the school’s administrators have outlined a plan to distribute those funds.

“We held an expanded senior staff meeting with about 20 representatives of our various divisions to determine how we could and should allocate the $88,000,” says BCCC President Dr. Barbara Tansey. “We wanted to make sure to be as fair as possible with the limited amount of money, and to work within the guidelines set by the system office.”

First, the school will use a portion of the funds to cover the cost of salary increases for employees who have earned new degrees. That educational “bump” is part of BCCC’s Personnel Policy. Next, the administrators looked at each level of salary banding and determined that the support staff was most in need of an increase, compared to comparable positions at the state’s other community colleges. The support staff will receive an increase that will bring pay into the median range for the state.

The remainder of the funds will be used for a salary increase for state-paid faculty and staff. Administrators will work to find funding for a comparable increase for maintenance staff who are paid by the county.

The increases have to be maintained in future budgets, points out Mark Nelson, vice president of administrative services. Also, the college is required to report to the system office by March 1 about how it has allocated the funds.

The state budget also provides for a one-time, $750 bonus for full-time employees in state-funded positions as of Nov. 1, which will be paid in December.