NJCCC Testifies at Assembly Public Budget Hearing, Citing Rising Healthcare Costs and Need for Stability

At the New Jersey General Assembly’s first FY27 Public Budget Hearing on March 13, the New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC) joined Presidents from Camden County College and Brookdale Community College to underscore both the strength of the sector and the growing financial pressures—especially from healthcare costs—threatening its mission.

Speaking on behalf of the state’s 18 community colleges, NJCCC Chief Innovation and Policy Officer Maria Heidkamp framed the system as a unified driver of opportunity and economic growth, serving more than 250,000 students annually while contributing $12.8 billion to New Jersey’s economy.

“We come to you today as a system of 18 unified, solution-oriented community colleges with a collective vision through our Opportunity Agenda,” Heidkamp told lawmakers, pointing to NJCCC’s Opportunity Agenda and the broader Future Ready New Jersey Coalition. The coalition is working toward an ambitious statewide goal of ensuring that 75 percent of New Jersey’s residents hold a degree or credential by 2040.

While NJCCC expressed appreciation for Governor Sherrill’s proposed level funding for community college operating aid, across all three testimonies delivered that day, a single issue emerged as the most urgent: the rapid and unsustainable rise in health benefit costs, including through the School Employees Health Benefits Program (SEHBP).

Heidkamp noted that community colleges are collectively facing an additional $35 million in healthcare expenses, driven in large part by a 32 percent increase in SEHBP costs. These increases are already forcing difficult decisions on campuses, such as cuts to programs and services, staffing reductions, and tuition increases that run counter to the colleges’ core mission of affordability.

Dr. Lovell Pugh-Bassett, President of Camden County College, detailed the local impact of a 45 percent increase in health benefit costs: an additional $3.5 million in a single year.

“$3.5 million is the equivalent of: hundreds of scholarships and aid to students with whom college would not be possible without it; dozens of faculty or staff positions that support student success; or critical academic and workforce programs that prepare students for careers in healthcare, education, technology, and the skilled trades so that they can strengthen New Jersey’s economy,” said Pugh-Bassett.

For colleges operating within tightly constrained funding structures, these increases leave little room for flexibility. As Pugh-Bassett noted, community colleges do not have the benefit of raising a tax levy or relying on large financial donors. As a result, institutions have very limited flexibility to absorb rising costs without impacting students or services.

Brookdale Community College President David Stout brought that reality into sharp focus through the stories of employees quietly struggling behind the scenes.

“Robert drives a 19-year-old car to Brookdale every day. What most people don’t know is that his car is also his home,” Stout said.

He went on to describe colleagues relying on campus food pantries or being forced to choose between rent, childcare, and transportation.

“You may have guessed that Robert, Alicia, and Fatima are not their real names, but they are real people. And they’re not our students; they’re our employees,” he said, illustrating how rising benefit costs are affecting the very people who support student success.

At Brookdale, health benefit costs have climbed from $14 million to a projected $19 million.

“Simply put, our fastest-growing expense is increasing three to four times faster than the resources we rely on to support our mission,” Stout said, reinforcing that institutions are being pushed to raise tuition and scale back services, eroding access and affordability.

Despite these challenges, all speakers emphasized the essential role community colleges play in New Jersey’s economic future, including preparing students for careers in healthcare, manufacturing, and emerging industries such as artificial intelligence and film production.

The message to lawmakers was consistent: maintaining affordability and expanding opportunity will require partnership and targeted action to address rising healthcare costs that are increasingly beyond the control of community colleges.

NJCCC and its college leaders closed with a commitment to partnership, signaling their readiness to work with the Administration and Legislature on both immediate relief and long-term solutions.

“We stand ready to join the Governor and the State Legislature in finding solutions to bring these costs down, costs that for our colleges are already resulting in cuts to staff, programs, and services our students need and tuition increases our students cannot afford,” Heidkamp said.