STLCC jobs and funding slashed by state budget cuts
Joe Douglas
– Editor-in-Chief –
As STLCC’s pool of money drains from its reservoir, college administrators are forced to make several decisions that will affect the future of the community college.
On Jan. 19, Missouri Gov.Jay Nixon announced a 7percent cut to state funding for public colleges. The looming possibility of layoffs, cuts and changes to programs has threatened STLCC since before the announcement.
From eliminating health care on all campuses in 2008 to the recent consolidation of STLCC sports teams in January, board of trustees Chair Denise Chachery said the college is looking at ways it can save money but also allocate more funds to programs that benefit education and work force development.
The decisions that follow will be made by the cooperative efforts of the STLCC board of trustees and the college leadership team. At the beginning of the year, the STLCC administrators and managers hosted a general meeting to discuss the budget, and invited veterans of The Chancellor’s Leadership Academy.
“We had different categories and were asked to identify three areas where each individual thought the reduction should occur so that we could identify some priorities,” STLCC Meramec Interim President Zerrie Campbell said. “So from that exercise, we got a general sense of where people felt we could make some reductions.
”However, the board and college leadership team are not finished making cuts. “There may be more,”Chachery said.
