A 7-percent reduction in state funding forces college officials to cut further into the district’s resources.
By: Shane Rice
-News Editor-
By: Joe Douglas
-Editor-in-Chief-
With a 7-percent reduction in state funding looming over STLCC, college officials are forced to cut further into the district’s resources by eliminating 60 support service positions throughout STLCC.
“We couldn’t make a definite decision until we knew what the state was going to do, what the government recommended. So as soon as we got that information, we moved as quickly as possible to notify people that were going to be impacted,” STLCC-Meramec President Zerrie Campbell said.
Vice Chancellor for Finance and Business Services Carla Chance said 48 of the 60 positions are occupied. The 48 employees received notice on Feb. 4 and will remain in their current positions until July 1.
Although STLCC looked at other ways of cutting funds, Chance said the layoffs were necessary. The departments that will be affected by these layoffs include Human Resources, Technology and Educational Support Services (TESS), Continuing Education, Internal Audit, the STLCC Foundation, Purchasing and Maintenance/HVAC.
“We looked at our business operations and tried to figure out our business practice because education needs to come first,” Chance said. “We tried cutting things that wouldn’t affect students, like TESS, out-of-state travel, printing, etc.”
STLCC board of trustees Chair Denise Chachery said [the college] didn’t isolate groups but looked at programs, different functional areas, and which areas could be more effective and efficient.
“We made decisions based on those criteria,” Chachery said.
Chance said that certain departments were vital to the operation and survival of STLCC. She said new departments like enrollment management are needed because they devise ways to attract and retain students.
“It’s a brand new department but core to our mission and that’s what we had to look at,” Chance said. “However, departments like TESS are becoming more sophisticated to the point where they don’t have to send a technician to the office to answer questions; it can all be done over a computer remotely.”
Chachery said the board looked at several alternatives and at STLCC’s mission, and chose selected areas with the least impact on personnel and students.
“I understand that they have their own livelihood to consider, maybe the livelihood of family members. It’s never an easy decision, but we have to go back to ‘what is their purpose for being in the job in the first place?’” Chachery said. “If there’s no demand for that labor, does it make sense to keep them employed if there’s no need?”
According to Chance, classified employees have displacement rights, which help protect their seniority.
However, professional employees and administrators do not have these rights, according to Chance. Instead, they are given the opportunity to apply for other positions that may open throughout the district.
At the beginning of the year, Campbell said, members of the Chancellor’s Leadership Academy met with college administrators and managers to discuss plans for STLCC’s budget. The administrators and managers were given different categories, and were asked to identify three areas where reduction should occur to indentify priorities.
“The recommendation from the administration was, even if there weren’t any state budget cuts, that they would still recommend these cuts because it was consistent with our mission, consistent with our strategic direction,” Chachery said.
In order to make up for the 7-percent loss, college officials need to cut $3.3 million from the current operating budget for the next academic year.
The consolidation of individual campus sports into one district-wide team is prepared, along with cuts from the capital budget, professional travel, and prints and document management reduction, which will total approximately $1.25 million in savings, according to Chance.
“All of the cuts we’ve made and decisions amount to about $3.3 million in savings. Some of that will go to budget shortfalls in state allocations being decreased and part of that will be reallocated to developmental classes,” Chachery said.
Last year, STLCC partnered with Achieving the Dream to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the college’s developmental classes. Currently, Chachery said, 80 percent of students who attend STLCC take remedial coursework.
“When this plan (to make cuts) was presented to [the board], there was a lot of discussion about the increased demand for developmental classes,” Chachery said. “We’ve got to have the resources to devote to those programs.”
Chance said the revenue enhancement strategies the college has implemented include investment in outreach to new markets and expanding courses delivered through its Workforce and Community Development division, the development of the Wildwood campus, BRDG Park and the William J. Harrison Education Center.
“The college also will continue to aggressively pursue funds through federal grants and private fundraising to achieve its strategic outcomes,” Chance said.
STLCC officials have also invested in the construction of three new buildings targeted at work force development and improving work force responsiveness.
“Our mission is educating people, and so we look at what’s the demand for labor and all of the different programs for educating people,” Chachery said.
According to Chance, the total cost for all three buildings was approximately $23.6 million, but “the expenditure was essential for both student and community growth.”
STLCC officials are currently looking at other means of saving money, according to Chance. In order to save money on utilities, Chance said the board and College Leadership Team considered reducing the school week to four days.
However, Chachery said the change would not be worthwhile. “There isn’t that much savings, especially when you’ve got increasing enrollment.” Chachery said the college is looking at potentially providing midnight classes. Bunker Hill Community College in Massachusetts was the first college in the nation to provide the time frame to its students.
“They find that that’s attractive to a lot of students and helps them relieve some of the overcrowding in the typical daytime hours if they just offer classes at midnight. And that’s something else we’re looking at,” Chachery said.
The board also has concerns about educational standards, Chachery said.
“The trend across the country is increasing the number of part-time faculty because that’s a less expensive route than increasing full-time faculty,” Chachery said.
