Chancellor Snyder held a town hall meeting at Longview (Bryan Gentry/The Current).
by Bryan Gentry
The current economic crisis has hit Metropolitan Community College, with a three-percent reduction to the 2008-2009 budget so far. Reductions may grow larger over the next few years.
At a Longview town hall meeting on the budget, Vice Chancellor Mark James said, “The focus has always been to take care of our students and employees.”
The three percent reduction is across the board, meaning it will affect each division of each campus equally. District cuts will total about $3 million, of which $2 million will be cut from the Administrative Center’s budget. Longview’s three percent is roughly $350,000.
“We’re not letting people go. However, we’re not filling empty positions,” Longview
President Fred Grogan said.
One way of overcoming the cuts is by using lapsed salaries. When the college keeps a job unfilled instead hiring someone, the budgeted salaries are used to save money. Currently, 76 percent of the district’s budget goes toward salaries, and 105 positions are empty in the district. At Longview, eight positions currently are vacant. These empty positions are estimated to represent close to $200,000 in pay.
“We’re in a good place with the budget” considering the state of the economy, MCC Chancellor Jackie Snyder said.
The 2010-2011 budget will have a total reduction of seven and a half percent, according to Grogan. However, only four percent of that will be across the board. This budget will still not directly impact students.
Despite these economic shortcomings, the college is growing. This semester has shown a growth of 4-5% relative to the fall semester. Part of the growth has been because of reverse transferring, or students transferring to Longview from a university.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has proposed legislation that would hold tuition in the state flat. This bill will soon be considered by the Missouri General Assembly. If a tuition freeze passed, the state would in return provide the same level of funding to colleges and universities as in the past.
To combat flat tuition, however, Missouri colleges may add fees elsewhere.
“Here at Longview, the ABLE programs may see additional fees and possibly the automotive program as well,” Grogan said.
The college would like to avoid making cuts to programs or asking for too much from their students, but if the hard times continue it may come to that.
“I think we can get through next year,” Grogan said. “If you go beyond next year, we may have to reduce what we provide for students, or ask for more revenue from them.”
Considering economic woes and the naturally increasing student body, is it economically a good idea attempt to increase enrollment?
“We have more students but less money,” Snyder said. “We need to look at what we can afford to do.”
April 5, 2009
Campus