What Houston Community College plans to spend, and why a Bellaire household might care

The short version

• HCC's budget for fiscal year 2026 has $475 million in revenues and $475 million in expenses, so it is balanced.
• Revenue is about 2% higher than the FY2025 year-end figure, and the board approved using $18 million of excess cash for deferred maintenance and workforce programs.
• Property taxes bring in $242.3 million, which is 51% of the college's revenue base. Tuition and fees bring in $122 million, and the state brings in $72.9 million.

What a fiscal year is

A fiscal year is the twelve months an organization uses to plan its money. It does not have to match the calendar year. HCC's fiscal year 2026 runs from September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026. The budget is the plan for those twelve months. It says how much money the college expects to take in and how much it expects to spend.

The numbers here come from a document HCC calls the Approved Budget for Fiscal Year 2026. The word approved matters. It means the college's board voted yes, so this is the plan the college is working from.

What "balanced" means

A budget is balanced when the money coming in matches the money going out. HCC's plan has $475 million in revenues and $475 million in expenses. The budget document lists total operating expenses of $474,907 in thousands, which is about $474.9 million, and the college rounds that to $475 million.

Think of a family that plans to spend every dollar of its paycheck over the year and no more. That is a balanced household budget. It does not say whether the plan is large or small, good or bad. It only says the two sides match on paper.

The budget also says revenue is up about 2% over the FY2025 year-end figures. Year-end means the final count for the last budget year. So the college plans to take in a little more than it took in the year before.

Where the money comes from

The budget names three big sources. Together they make up most of the money.

Property taxes. The budget lists ad valorem taxes at $242.3 million, which it says is 51% of the total revenue base. Ad valorem is a Latin phrase that means according to value. A property tax is ad valorem because the bill depends on what the property is worth. If you own a home in Houston Community College's tax district, one line of your property tax bill goes to HCC. This is the largest single source of money for the college.

Tuition and fees. Students pay to take classes. The budget lists tuition and fees at $122 million, which is 26% of the total revenue base.

State money. The budget lists state appropriations at $72.9 million, which it puts at 15% of the base revenue budget. An appropriation is money the state legislature decides to give a public college.

Those three together add up to 92% of the base. The rest comes from smaller sources the summary pages do not break out.

What the money pays for

Most of a college budget pays people. Teachers, advisers, counselors, police officers, custodians, IT staff and many others work at a college, and they all get paid. The budget says salaries are $266.4 million, which is 56% of expenses. Benefits, such as health insurance and retirement plans for employees, are $39.8 million, or 8%. Other costs that are not payroll, such as supplies, utilities, repairs, software and contracts, are $111.8 million, or 24%.

The document also lists transfers, debt service and scholarships. Debt service means payments on money the college borrowed, the way a homeowner pays a mortgage. Scholarships are money that helps students pay for school.

HCC runs several colleges inside one system. The budget lists Central, Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast and Coleman colleges, plus an Online College. A West Loop Campus appears in the budget pages for Southwest College.

What "excess cash" means

Excess cash is money a college has saved beyond what it needs to pay its regular bills. You can think of it like a savings cushion. A family might keep enough in the bank to cover a few months of bills, and anything above that is extra. The budget document we read does not give its own definition, so this is the plain-word meaning, not a quote from HCC.

The board approved using $18 million of this excess cash. The budget says it is for two things.

Deferred maintenance. This is repair and upkeep work that has been put off. Roofs, air conditioning, floors and pipes all wear out. When a repair waits, it is called deferred. At some point the work has to get done, and using saved cash is one way to pay for it.

Workforce programs. The document names Houston Reconnect and Connect 2 Workforce. It does not say in the pages we read what each program does in detail. It does say $10.4 million was approved for them. In general, workforce programs help people train for jobs, and community colleges often run them.

One careful note. Using savings is a one-time kind of money. Once it is spent, it is gone, so it is different from money that comes in every year from taxes and tuition. That is not a good or bad thing by itself. It is just how this kind of money works.

The good news and the fair notes

The good news is plain. The plan is balanced. Revenue is expected to rise about 2%. The college is putting $18 million toward repairs it has put off and toward programs that help people get ready for jobs.

The fair note is that a budget is a plan, not a final count. What the college actually takes in and spends is reported after the year ends, in a different document. Also, the numbers in a budget are the college's own estimates, so they can change.

We are not judging the college's choices. We are only reporting what the board approved.

Why a Bellaire household might care

If you pay HCC's tax line on your bill. Look at your property tax bill. If HCC appears on it, the college is one of the groups that gets a share of what you pay. The budget says property taxes are 51% of the college's revenue base, so the tax line matters a lot to the college. Knowing what the college plans to spend helps you see where that line goes.

If someone in your family may take classes. Community colleges offer classes for credit toward a degree, job training and other courses. Tuition and fees are 26% of the revenue base, and a budget shows what the college has planned around it. If you are thinking of classes, check HCC's own tuition page for the current price. We did not find a rate we could confirm, so we have left it out.

If you care about your neighborhood. Local colleges are a big employer and training center for the Houston area. The budget says more than half of expenses pay salaries, so what the college spends turns into paychecks.

Questions you can ask

• Does my property tax bill list HCC, and what is the amount on that line?
• What are Houston Reconnect and Connect 2 Workforce, and who can join?
• Which repairs will the $18 million for deferred maintenance cover?
• Where can I read the full budget? The college posts it on its annual budget reports page, listed below.

Sources

• Houston Community College, Approved Budget Fiscal Year 2026 (PDF) (https://www.hccs.edu/media/hccsedu/content-assets/documents/paying-for-college/FY2026-Approved-Budget-FINAL.pdf)
• Houston Community College, Annual Budget Reports page (https://www.hccs.edu/policies-procedures-financial-transparency--disclosures/financial-transparency--public-disclosures/annual-budget-reports/)

En español

El Colegio Comunitario de Houston, conocido como HCC, tiene un presupuesto aprobado para su año fiscal 2026, que va del 1 de septiembre de 2025 al 31 de agosto de 2026. El presupuesto está balanceado: $475 millones de ingresos y $475 millones de gastos. Los ingresos son cerca de un 2% más altos que al cierre del año fiscal 2025. Según el documento, los impuestos a la propiedad aportan $242.3 millones, el 51% de los ingresos; la matrícula y las cuotas aportan $122 millones, el 26%; y el estado aporta $72.9 millones, el 15%. La mayor parte del gasto paga a las personas que trabajan en el colegio: $266.4 millones en sueldos y $39.8 millones en beneficios. La junta aprobó usar $18 millones de efectivo excedente, es decir, ahorros que sobran después de pagar las cuentas normales. Ese dinero es para mantenimiento que se había pospuesto y para programas de capacitación laboral. Si usted paga el renglón de HCC en su recibo de impuestos a la propiedad, el colegio es uno de los que recibe una parte. Revise su recibo, y si alguien en su familia piensa tomar clases, consulte la página de HCC para ver el precio actual.

The HERE Bellaire team