In the first of three annual Board of Trustees meetings, the board approved a $2.7 million increase to the 2005-2006 budget to compensate for unforeseen expenses.
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer Catherine Longley said that the trustees adjusted the budget to account for increased expenses in utilities, financial aid, travel, and payroll, while also accounting for the expense of the dean of admissions and financial aid search.
The operating budget at Bowdoin College is currently $99,425,000, which does not include the roughly $16,500,000 available for financial aid.
Utility expenses have seen a $1.3 million increase.
The College expects higher returns on its short-term investments, and enlarged gifts and contributions to the College, which Longley said should help pay for the increased costs. Longley also said that the College will be deferring certain equipment purchases for the dining service and Facilities Management.
In addition, the College will be spending $1.3 million of its $1.5 million operating surplus from the 2004-2005 fiscal year.
"We are fortunate to have an operating surplus at the end of the last fiscal year that will basically cover the increased cost of utilities," Longley said.
The Board of Trustees meets every May to decide the budget, and in October it reassesses its conclusion.
"It's usually just a few hundred thousand [dollars]," Longley said of the October budget adjustment.
Longley said that there is no reason for concern, and that although the budget adjustment is larger than normal, nothing is being permanently eliminated to account for the new costs.
"We're not making any personnel cuts," Longley said. "There is no cause for alarm; it's all very doable."