Board members discussed their expectation that the Iowa Legislature will not set state aid for community colleges until next month, which is one of the reasons – along with expected changes to enrollment figures – the budget remains preliminary. It is designed to represent the spending limit for the college, not necessarily how much it will actually spend next fiscal year. Tom Johnson, the outgoing vice president of finance and operations, said the college’s spending for its general fund would be capped at about $50.35 million for next year, based on the published budget estimate.

The board, which met this month at the Shelby County Center in Harlan, gave its approval following a public hearing without any testimony. Iowa Western will file the budget with the Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa Department of Management, which requires a budget to be filed by next Monday.