TRAVERSE CITY -- College hasn't been easy for Trevor Williams.
He's a non-traditional student at Northwestern Michigan College and still a freshman, despite taking classes on and off for four years.
He's trying to cobble together an education to give himself a chance to compete for jobs in an economy that doesn't offer many opportunities.
"Everybody wants to get a good job and make some money. But it's hard to find a job you like, rather than a job that just makes you money," he said.
NMC officials are working on a preliminary $37 million budget for the coming fiscal year, and are trying to find ways to serve students like Williams amid stagnant state funding and slim increases in local tax support.
Among NMC trustees' challenges: considering tuition rates, as well as employee compensation, decisions that will impact a student population swollen by a severely depleted job market.
Williams, 22, of Traverse City, struggled with grades and credit card debt, burdens that prompted him to drop out for several semesters at a time. But he's back at it now, studying accounting and finance with plans to transfer to a four-year university in another year.
Until then, he plans to remain a full-time student at Traverse City's community college.
"There are a lot of factors and money is one of them," he said.
Williams can live at his parents' home rent-free and work to pay down debt while at the local college. Similar financial considerations draw many students to NMC.
Jessica Forsyth, 18, of Fife Lake, started her collegiate music studies in Traverse City to save money and extend her stay at home.
"I thought I'd be able to survive if I went away to school, but this gives me one more year to get ready. Plus, it's a lot less expensive here," she said.
NMC is attracting more fresh-out-of-high-school students, as well as non-traditional students, officials said.
The current semester set an enrollment record at 4,483 students, and projections for summer and fall semesters call for student increases, too.
Looming summer classes already have attracted nearly 175 more students than last year's summer offerings, and registration hasn't yet closed. Plus, another significant student increase is expected in the fall, said Jim Bensley, NMC admissions director.
More students equal a bigger budget, he said.
"Because we need the faculty to teach the courses the students are requesting, we can't cut there. We have the students filling the seats," Bensley said.
"I'm expecting we're probably going to have to hire people to meet the needs of the new students," added NMC President Tim Nelson.
The college's current working budget projects a revenue increase of more than $1 million -- mostly through tuition and local property taxes -- and an accompanying hike in expenditures, all while assuming no increase in state funding.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars are expected to be saved through new energy-efficiency policies, and a new health insurance contract will pare $900,000 over the next three years, said Cathy Jones, NMC's vice president for finance and administration.
That still might not be enough cushion.
Salaries, wages and benefits make up nearly three-quarters of the preliminary budget for next year, but there's not enough money to fully fund planned compensation increases, Nelson said.
"We're looking at what's the right thing to do. When labor is 72 percent of your budget, you have to look at labor," he said.
NMC's looking at about $262,000 worth of vacant positions -- an administrator, a custodian and an instructor -- that may not be filled. Trustees must decide whether to bolster revenues by approving a proposed 2.8 to 3.7 percent tuition increase for in-state and out-of-state students, but not for Grand Traverse County students.
Trustee Bill Myers wants to look at a possible wage freeze to avoid putting more financial burden on students.
"I would have a hard time justifying a wage increase at the college when the families of our students are so strapped," Myers said.
NMC trustees will discuss next year's budget at their March 17 study session meeting at 9 a.m. at the Great Lakes Campus' Hagerty Center. Several budget scenarios will be provided, with various options for tuition and compensation levels, along with local property tax projections.
Trustees must approve a budget by the end of June.
