LCC grapples with $3.5 million PERS hit in 2027-28 budget

A bump in pension payments is likely to blow a $3.5 million hole in Lane Community College’s budget for next school year, and college officials are searching for ways to fill it, including offering buyouts to classified employees and faculty.

LCC financial officials shared the budget update at a Wednesday, Nov. 4, meeting of the college’s Board of Education.

Also at the meeting, board members released a positive evaluation of LCC President Stephanie Bulger and heard an update about the college’s plan for lobbying the 2027 Legislature.

Financial estimates 

LCC revenue this academic year is forecast to be about $1 million less than budgeted, mainly because students are taking fewer credits than expected, said Kara Flath, LCC’s vice president of finance and operations, and Jonathon Campbell, its senior director of budget, grants and resource planning.

Spending, mostly driven by increased salaries, is over budget by about $400,000, Flath and Campbell said. The college is working to boost enrollment revenue and closely watching expenditures.

LCC is in the first year of a three-year plan to trim about $8 million in spending, to bring its ending fund balances (its reserves) to 10% of its general fund. (The general fund for this academic year is budgeted at about $105 million.)

Looking ahead to the 2027-28 academic year, LCC expects to spend $3.5 million more than anticipated in the rates it pays to Oregon’s Public Employees Retirement System. That’s mainly because a PERS side account the college has is set to expire. Side accounts allow employers to make a lump-sum payment to prepay all or part of their PERS liability with the idea of lowering contributions to the system.

In addition to the unanticipated $3.5 million PERS rate increase, LCC’s three-year plan calls for trimming $3 million in spending during the next school year. This creates a budget gap of more than $6 million.

LCC announced last month it would offer “separation incentives” to longtime employees who volunteer to leave.

At Wednesday’s meeting, officials gave no estimate of how many buyouts LCC officials hope to gather or how much money they hope to save.

Shane Turner, LCC’s vice president of human resources and labor relations, said: “You don’t want too many people to go because that could cripple your operations, but you want enough to go so that it achieves the kind of savings that you’re trying to achieve without the disruption that you experience from involuntary separations.”

Eligible employees must decide whether to accept the offer by the end of November, KLCC has reported.

Campus workgroups are meeting to start identifying other potential budget cuts, Flath and Campbell said. Other discussions are focusing on ways to increase revenue.

Evaluation of President Bulger

During Wednesday’s meeting, Board Chair Jesse Maldonado read a “public-facing evaluation statement” summarizing its evaluation of President Bulger’s performance during the 2025-26 academic year.

The statement, a summary of the board’s full evaluation, which was prepared in executive session, was based on three key goals:

• Fiscal condition
• Managed enrollment growth and student success
• Institutional climate

The statement commended Bulger’s “work to advance long-term fiscal stability, strengthen external partnerships, build enrollment and student-success infrastructure and remain focused on the College’s mission during a period of significant fiscal, labor and institutional complexity.”

The statement also “identified a need for continued focus on institutional climate, employee engagement, labor relations, enrollment outcomes, equity cap reduction and the continued development of evidence-based strategies to advance student success.”

In February, the board approved a new three-year contract for Bulger, boosting her base salary to $289,671.17, an increase of about 10.5%.

Legislative agenda

Jenna McCulley, LCC’s senior adviser for strategic communications, presented a draft of the college’s “Legislative Advocacy Platform” for the 2027 session.

The key item: join other community colleges and advocates to push for adequate state funding. That includes additional funding for the Community College Support Fund, the main source of state funding for its 17 community colleges. It also calls for a funding formula that considers headcount and not just full-time equivalent students — an important issue for LCC, where students are taking fewer credits. 

Other legislative goals include:

• Expanding student access, affordability and completion.
• Strengthening workforce development and the regional economy.
• Investing in facilities, infrastructure and technology. 
• Preserving effective local control and safe learning environments.