QUESTION #1: WILL THE OVERALL BASE BUDGET INCREASE NEXT YEAR? IF SO, HOW DO WE PLAN TO SPEND THE INCREASED REVENUE?
Yes. In a budget of roughly $61 million, we will have approximately $2.5 million of additional revenue in next year's budget. Almost $1.4 million of this increased revenue will be used to support the 5.25% increase in the faculty salary/benefits pool and a 4.25% increase in the staff salary/benefits pool. (See Questions #18 and #19 for more on salaries and benefits.) That leaves about $1.1 million for all other budget functions. The non-salary instructional budget will increase by $348,000, which includes substantial increased support for student-faculty research.
The remaining additional revenue (about $752,000) will be used in large part to fund initiatives associated with our heightened fund raising needs and the facility cost increases related to facilities such as the new Welcome Center. For more on this, please see Question #11. We will also use this additional revenue to fund: 1) additional Diversity initiatives; 2) Improvements to our College publications; 3) Library database enhancements; 4) The Alumni Scholars Program; 5) Several ITS/Academic Computing initiatives; 6) Alternative Break for students; and 7) Food cost increases.
This, of course, is after we take out scholarships and grants awarded by Grinnell College. That is, we are not treating these scholarships and grants as an expense. You can find more information about financial aid in Questions #2 and #17.
