SCC walks budget tightrope

Chaim Eliyah

Staff Writer

Shoreline is facing a budget crisis, and jobs will have to be cut. In a series of all-campus meetings, the current budget shortfalls and their projected impact have been explained to faculty and students.

Shoreline gets money from the state for its levels of enrollment, compensation increases, and vocational programs (which are funded a different way). This year, the college has suffered a drop in student enrollment, which has caused a $262,500 budget shortfall in the college's enrollment-based spending money for fall. What's worse, enrollment is predicted to be down for winter and spring quarters as well - causing a total shortfall this year of nearly $463,900, according to acting school president Lee Lambert, who was speaking at the meeting.

A shortfall this large requires cuts across the board, and vice presidents have received reduction ideas from deans as of Nov. 14 on what cuts are recommended in each department. These cuts will partly include voluntary contract reductions of some faculty members; others will face termination.

The general consensus seems to be that such cuts will mean a less flexible schedule for some Shoreline students in the coming year, with some classes being reduced and others being cut entirely.

While there are other plans in process to eliminate this budget deficiency, such as future program creations and marketing to attract more full-time enrollments, the current situation requires us to cut the budget by the amount of total shortfall - nearly half a million dollars. In addition, the college has faced unexpected expenses for fall quarter, including $60,000 spent on the college's online Blackboard learning environment and an unexpected $50,000 bill for utilities.

Current plans to deal with the crisis include using the current salary savings from faculty vacancies, eliminating an hourly worker program in Technology and Support Services, and a "restructuring" of the deans and chairs.

The AB/ESL Program (International Students studying English), though funded separately from other college programs, will generate an additional $382,500, which may help contribute slightly to the campus' general fund.

A meeting will be held Dec. 9 2005 to announce the plan for cuts to the entire campus, according to the Shoreline Community College intranet.

Information taken from the Shoreline Community College web page, Shoreline intranet, and the all-campus meetings Nov. 9 and Dec. 2.