News
Economic forecast: $600,000 to $2 million in additional cuts
Tight budget puts a strain on MHCC, state, according to Chief Operating Officer Mike Wolfe
As the likelihood of additional budget cuts looms for Mt. Hood Community College, MHCC President John Sygielski and Chief Operating Officer Michael Wolfe say the recent lack of state education funding is “discouraging.”
“Since the first budget cuts were made in January (reduction in operating budget by $600,000), we’ve already done some things to drop our expenses,” Wolfe said Wednesday. “It’s hard to fully understand the situation that we are facing right now, particularly since the 2009-2011 budget isn’t released yet.”
Wolfe said the economic forecast will be released Friday, Feb. 20, and that report from the state would help reveal MHCC’s operating budget for 2009-2010.
“Once we have an opportunity to digest what is said in the economic forecast, we’ll be able to see more clearly exactly what it is we’ll need to do,” said Wolfe. “There are creative ways to address this issue. We don’t know what the size of the issue is yet, but we have an idea. What’s on a lot of people’s minds is layoffs, and like (the president) said in his e-mail, we want to avoid those at all costs.”
Wolfe was referring to an all-staff e-mail that Sygielski sent Monday, in which he assured college employees that layoffs are “not an impossibility, [but] they will be a last resort.”
MHCC has already reduced expenses on materials, equipment, part-time employee hours, and services by 5, 10 and 15 percent on various things in light of last month’s budget reductions, including a 10 percent cut across the board in the facilities budget.
“This puts a strain on everybody,” said Wolfe. “Basically what these cuts mean is that we have less of an ending fund balance. We’re making it all up with reductions in everything that can possibly be reduced and used more sparingly. Everything is on the table.”
Both Wolfe and Sygielski said that the college would consider a tuition increase, but that the matter has not been talked about and is a board decision.
“We really want to avoid a tuition raise,” said Sygielski Wednesday. “I’d be hesitant to do that because it affects students obviously in a negative way. We want tuition and fees to remain affordable, because if they are raised, this college is no longer as easily accessible to the public.”
Sygielski reiterated that the possibility of the adverse economic climate affecting number of staff was present, but maintained that administrators would do everything they could to prevent it.
“Do we give up days, do we take reductions in salary; how do we make sure that everyone makes an equal sacrifice?” said Sygielski. “I would be willing to take a pay cut, and I’m sure others would as well, because we’re all in this together. This problem is going to last, but we will get through it.”
Sygielski said the college has looked at a hiring “chill,” not a freeze, meaning that they would be looking at jobs that aren’t currently necessary and avoid hiring people to fill those jobs. Being judicious about use of materials and energy, he said, were things that were already being done.
At Wednesday’s District Board meeting, board member Dave Shields spoke of the potential losses in the statewide community college budget, saying the losses could be anywhere between $75 million to $125 million. The current annual budget for community colleges is $500 million.
“This is a pretty scary situation,” said Shields. “Next month will create some pretty dismal forecasts, and some things may happen that we don’t want.”
Shields brought attention to the board that current half-time faculty are receiving full-time medical benefits, and that the possibility of reducing those benefits was becoming apparent. The final estimate for total budget losses could total as much as $2 million, according to Sygielski, on top of the $600,000 that already must be removed from the budget by June.
“We don’t know what we’re looking at right now as far as loss of funding,” said Sygielski. “But we’re preparing for the worst.”
February 13, 2009
Volume 44, Issue 17