The Anne Arundel Community College Board of Trustees approved last night a proposed $36.3 million operating budget that calls for no tuition increases or cost-of-living raises.
The spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1 is 1 percent higher than the current $35.9 million operating budget.
The proposed budget must be submitted to County Executive John Gary by March 1.
Harried staff members finished work on the spending plan minutes before the board began meeting at 7:30 p.m.
The last-minute rush reflected the difficulty college bTC administrators have had in projecting revenues from the school's three main sources of income -- the state, the county, and fees and tuition.
State support has been declining for years.
The college is hoping to receive a one-time contribution of about $496,000, from a $5 million pool that Gov. Parris N. Glendening has promised to distribute among Maryland's community colleges.
Enrollment is down, and as a result, so is income from tuition and fees.
Spring registration, at 11,139, had decreased .5 percent compared with that of last spring, according to figures the college provided.
That leaves it up to the county to do more, college administrators said.
"We believe that we can no longer turn to students to carry our fair share," said Dr. Martha A. Smith, the college president. "We do do more with less, but we believe we are seriously underfunded."
Dr. Smith's proposed budget calls for the county to give the college $13.6 million, about 8.9 percent more than the $12.6 million it gave this year.
Mr. Gary has said county agencies will receive budget increases of no more than 1.5 percent, with the exception of the public school system, which he said may get 4.5 percent.
"This is a maintenance budget," said Theone Relos, the college's public relations director. "There are no new initiatives in here. We're getting bare bones from the state, bare bones from the county, and we're recommending no increase in tuition."
Eligible college employees would receive a longevity pay increase of about 4 percent at a cost to the college of about $500,000.
The college's total operating budget has risen by $5.8 million since the 1992 fiscal year.
Last year, the school received $13.4 million in tuition and fees and about $9.2 million from the state. The county gave the school $10.7 million plus another $1.9 million for debt service.
The county's contribution to the community college budget has risen $800,000 since 1992, an increase of 7.6 percent over three years.