Last updated: April 7, 2026
On April 7, 2026, the Board of Trustees of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, adopted a $128-million operating budget for 2026-27.
Compounding structural pressures could have resulted in a deficit approaching $10 million without intervention. Those structural pressures include three consecutive years of flat state appropriations; a projected enrollment decline of 1.8%; the first budget cycle reflecting the full financial impact of a newly ratified collective bargaining agreement with the faculty union; an 11% increase in employee healthcare costs; and rising operating expenses driven by inflation. These pressures converged simultaneously and left the College with a clear choice: act decisively now or face a deficit that would deepen in subsequent years.
Through a deliberate combination of short- and long-term initiatives, the College has reduced that exposure by half, limiting the 2026-27 deficit to $5 million. This reflects the kind of disciplined, forward-looking stewardship that responsible institutions must exercise in periods of transition. The College remains firmly committed to returning to a structurally balanced budget no later than 2027-28.
“HACC’s Board of Trustees expects the College to present a fiscally-responsible budget each year. The 2026-27 budget reflects a long-standing practice of accountable budget stewardship as well as our ongoing commitment to putting and serving students first,” said HACC President and CEO John J. “Ski” Sygielski, MBA, Ed.D.