LU Curators approve tuition increase, approve 2019-20 budget

Tuition's going up about 4 percent this fall for Lincoln University students.

"Lincoln was the only (state) institution that did not increase tuition last year," Sandy Koetting, LU's vice president for Administration and Finance, told the Board of Curators on Thursday.

"There's always a concerted effort to make sure that tuition at Lincoln University remains affordable - so that students have access to an education."

Koetting said the proposed increase was slightly smaller than Lincoln could have authorized, based on the state Higher Education Department calculations.

Curators approved a base tuition and fees of $7,309.70 per year for the 2019-20 school year that begins this fall.

That's based on a student taking 30 credit hours a school year.

Non-Missouri students would pay twice that amount, Koetting said.

The board also approved a 3 percent increase in room fees and board rates.

Room fees vary, depending on which residence hall a student lives in.

The board rate increases would take the unlimited meal plan from $1,725 per semester to $1,777, and the daily rate plan from $15.40 per day to $15.87.

Koetting noted: "We did not increase any of the other fees (like) course fees or lab fees."

Budgets approved

Curators also approved a general fund operating budget of $36,148,148, and an auxiliary fund operating budget of $7,468,658.

Koetting reminded the board she'll have to revise the general fund budget later this year, because the proposal approved by the board Thursday didn't include any increases from this year's state budget - because her proposal was prepared in April, and the Legislature didn't okay the state budget until May.

That budget - which Parson recently signed - included a $1 million increase in LU's state appropriations.

Koetting noted the state budget didn't increase - and didn't cut - the state's matching share for the $7.1 million federal land grant money Lincoln receives as an 1890 land grant school.

The state budgeted $3.8 million for that match - which means LU loses some of the money available from the federal program, finds another way to match the federal grant, or gets a waiver from the U.S. Agriculture Department for the difference.

Koetting noted the land grant money is restricted and "cannot be used for instructional purposes."

Instead, the federal and state shares must be used for agricultural research and Extension programs.

Koetting said the school's ongoing repair-and-maintenance fund is $300,000 a year.

"For a campus our size, that should be closer to $2 million," she said, "so we are severely underfunding ongoing repair and maintenance. But again, our budget doesn't necessarily allow for increases to that.

"It's a serious issue that we need to take into consideration (because) the list of deferred maintenance (projects) is significant."

Koetting reminded curators the "general fund budget is basically what operates the primary functions of the institution - and the revenues come from state appropriations and tuition and fees. The auxiliary system for Lincoln University is primarily residential housing, and room-and-board is the primary revenue source."

Student Union operations also come from the auxiliary budget.

Repairing the President's House

Curators heard about the repairs that will be needed to the President's House, 601 Jackson St., that was heavily damaged in last month's tornado.

Jeff Turner, LU's new Facilities and Planning director, told the board Thursday: "Structurally, the building is sound - there's no concerns about structural integrity.

"It took a beating, both inside and out. The exterior looks the worst - all of the doors and windows were blown out, ripped off and distributed throughout the community."

The home's interior essentially was "demolished in terms of its aesthetics" on all three floors, except the basement, Turner said.

Lincoln is working with the insurance company, with plans to take all the interior walls "back to studs" and rebuild the interior, he said.

No costs have been set, although he estimated it might take more than $1 million for all the repairs, and around a year to do the work "once we get started" - with the insurance company paying most of that.

"At this point, what we're seeing and what we're hearing is that they (insurance officials) are planning to put the house back in the same condition it was before the storm," he said, "not to mention the deductible."

He added: "The slate roof and the copper gutter, flashing and trim, will run us well over $200,000."