A college committee recommended Tuesday that $2.49 million in red ink be erased this year by using one-time money stashed in various budget accounts.
But it spared funds generated by students, coaches and other volunteers through drama productions, concerts, athletic events, the student newspaper and other activities related to the instructional program.
Instead, the committee chose to recommend a 2 percent cut in the operating budgets across all divisions of the college.
If approved by President Judy Walters, this $2.49 million will be added to $585,000 in additional savings after classes were slashed last month from the spring and summer 2010 schedule.
This brings the total reduction for the current school year to $2.9 million due to shortfalls in state funding.
“Given all the work that’s going into it, I probably will take what they are proposing,” Walters said prior to the meeting Tuesday.
Over its four days of meetings, the Budget Oversight Committee heard from faculty members and managers who asked that the funds generated by students, called “co-curricular trust funds,” be spared because they are essential to programs that directly affect students.
The co-curricular accounts amounted to $130,170 out of a possible $2.6 million in possible cuts
Athletic Director Christine Worsley said 10 sports programs rely heavily on revenues
generated by coaches, instructors and student volunteers who organize rental of sports facilities to outside groups, sell tickets and man the concession stand.
The money then finances the teams’ travel expenses, uniforms, program equipment and facility upgrades and repairs. Without it, some sports would have to be canceled, she said.
In a written statement to the committee, music instructor Bret Peppo said the choral program depends heavily on the fundraising activities of students through ticket sales for performances.
Music instructor Owen Lee said his program would “be gutted in one fell swoop” with the loss of co-curricular funds.
The committee—chaired by Vice President Chris Leivas—included managers Stacey Shears and Ann Patterson; faculty members Keith Mikolavich and John Hanecak; staff members Courtney Crew and Sue Handy; and student Jodie Cheung.
In a separate interview prior to the committee’s decision Tuesday, Walters exapressed her support for the student-generated funds.
“On a personal basis, I hope we don’t have to go that route,” Walters said.
Susan Lamb, vice president of instruction, who is not a member of the committee, also told the Inquirer that using these funds will “send the wrong message.”
“People have put their blood, sweat and tears, their own time…to help raise that money, ” Lamb said. “For me that’s pretty much program money.”
Walters said she directed the committee to the budget accounts with as-yet-unspent savings to avoid employee layoffs during the current school year.
“But I recognize that by cutting our [spring and summer] schedule we’re also cutting people, and we’re affecting the lives of part-time faculty,” she said.
The president’s contingency account, consisting of $50,000, was left intact, as were three other funds.
“That buffer is if something happens to a building,” Leivas said of the emergency account. “Every semester something comes up.”
The other 16 funds were either wiped out or partially used towards the deficit. For instance, all of the carryover money in the facility use account was eliminated for a savings of $371,745, while $800 was left in the equipment account and $261,797 went towards the deficit.
Enrollment management was left with $44,600 of what was a $140,140 fund, with the remaining money earmarked for the Ujima and Student Ambassadors programs. The campus-wide activities fund was left with $750 after losing $7,800.
The list went on and on.
“I know that the 2 percent across the board is tough for people,” said Leivas at the close of Tuesday’s meeting. “We got 98 percent [of the necessary $2.9 million cut] with one-time funds. That’s pretty astounding.”
(Staff writer Nick Sestanovich contributed to this story)