As Mt. Hood Community College sorts through what is anticipated to be a significant shortfall in state funding for the 2005-2007 biennium, amid the elimination list, public hearings and the board’s decision to “cut or not to cut,” Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced plans to reverse the community college funding decrease.

Kulongoski’s proposed 2005-2007 state budget supplemented community colleges with $388 million statewide – more than $20 million less than last biennium’s state community college funding.

The governor’s staff said the 5.5 percent cut was a mistake and Kulongoski intends to fill the gap.

“Kulongoski has been a big supporter of ours,” said Robert Silverman, president of Mt. Hood Community College. “He’s said many times that he wants to build community colleges; he wants to bring more money. The budget requests that he put forward had us at $388 million.” MHCC receives about one-tenth of the state’s community college allocation.

Silverman contends that while the college may see an additional $2 million in the next biennium, “even if you take the $22 million and add it back [into the state’s budget], we’re just barely getting back to what we had this biennium.”

Silverman said he wants to see the college get back to the level of funding it was at during the ’01-’02 school year.

“We’re in what’s called a downward spiral,” said Silverman. “The only way out of this is to raise tuition, and when you raise tuition, you lose students. And you can see that happening everywhere across the state.”

Silverman said community colleges have lost between 60,000 and 70,000 students since 2000.

The college had anticipated a 5.5 percent decrease in state funding and, as in 2002 when the Unit Review Process was created, programs and expenditures went under intense review.

“It tears [my] heart out to cut programs,” said Silverman. “It is the most difficult thing a president or a board has to do.”

The second of two public hearings held on the topic of the elimination list attracted more than a dozen speakers Wednesday.

“We’ve tried our best to be as objective as we can,” said Silverman during Wednesday’s public hearing.

The hearing was dominated by aviation and horticulture speakers, much like Friday’s hearing, said Silverman.

“There are only two programs that I can see – aviation and horticulture – and that’s the way the first public hearing was last week,” said Silverman.

Nicolo Rodio, student in the aviation program, said, “When I was a little boy, my dad was watching a football game and I asked him who he was watching and he told me the Jets were on, and I said, ‘I want the Jets to win because I love airplanes.’

“There are other programs, but I don’t know who grows up to be in the mortuary business. But a lot of people grow up dreaming about being pilots,” added Rodio.

Local pilot and businessman Carric Scott asked the administration to “market the program.”

“I don’t see any marketing – maybe I’ve missed it,” added Scott.

“Well, the problem is we don’t have a lot of money for marketing,” said Silverman. “If you keep doing the same thing, you’re going to get the same results.”

Paul Thalhofer, mayor of Troutdale, attended the hearing in defense of the aviation program.

“I think this program is going to get bigger and bigger as the word spreads as to the merits of this program,” said Thalhofer.

Part-time horticulture instructor Greg Brown said, “This program has seen increasing enrollment in the four terms since its [inception].”

Brown said the “environmental horticulture program came in about $20,000 under budget last year.

“Our $20,000 was used to balance the budget of another over-budget program,” said Brown.

Brown said horticulture was one of the first programs developed at MHCC. “I’ve told acquaintances that MHCC is considering the elimination of horticulture, and their response is, ‘What for? Mt. Hood has always had a ‘hort’ program because of all the nurseries around here.’ ”

Brown added, “Every time the announcement is made that Mt. Hood is considering the elimination of the horticulture program, we lose students. Portland Community College and Clackamas Community College are picking up our students.”

The elimination list – whether final or draft – is only a recommendation. Before any programs can be cut, the MHCCD board must approve the list at their meeting on Feb. 9.
According to Silverman, the board’s decision on the elimination list could be postponed.
“We planned to do the elimination list in the February meeting [of the board], but it might be held off until March,” said Silverman.