Alamance Community College’s board of trustees voted 11-0 during their latest meeting Monday night to approve a $6.7 million county budget request for the upcoming 2026-27 fiscal year that begins July 1.
If approved by Alamance County’s commissioners, the proposed county budget would represent an 23.82 percent increase (for an increase of approximately $1.3 million) above the county’s funding levels for ACC for the current fiscal year.
By comparison, ACC officials requested $5.9 million and received $5.4 million in county funding for the current fiscal year that runs through June 30.
ACC’s county budget request for the 2026-27 fiscal year includes $5.5 million for current expenses (i.e., day-to-day operations) and $1.2 million for capital funding for facility maintenance and repairs. State law requires counties to fund expenses for the maintenance and construction of community college facilities located within their jurisdictions.
ACC chief finance officer Elizabeth (“Libba”) Thomas briefly discussed the county budget request with the trustees Monday night. She pointed out that ACC will see an increase in its expenses during the next fiscal year due to enrollment growth and completion of ongoing capital projects (i.e., facility maintenance and upgrades).
ACC’s overall costs for maintenance and janitorial services provided under a contract with Aramark will also increase by about 3 percent for a third and final consecutive year, in keeping with the terms of the company’s contract with the community college, Thomas told the trustees.
ACC’s costs for personnel, benefits, and building maintenance are projected to increase by 2.2 percent in 2027, in line with a forecast for the southern U.S. by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics that Thomas provided for the trustees’ discussion.
ACC trustees voted unanimously 11-0 to approve the county budget request, which will be forwarded to Alamance County government officials by the end of this month.
Voting to approve ACC’s county budget request for the 2026-27 fiscal year that begins July 1 were: trustee chairman Julie Scott Emmons and vice chairman Ken Walker; and trustees Grant Brooks, Jim Butler, Walter Britt, Steve Carter, Dr. Roslyn Crisp, Pete Glidewell, Tammy Karnes, Sylvia Munoz, and Blake Williams. Trustee Bill Gomory was absent.
