Clatsop Community College is committed to a secure and fiscally sustainable future for our college, students, faculty, and staff. To move the college in this direction, we have had to make immediate and dramatic cuts to operate within our means. By State law, we must have an annual balanced budget.
On July 1, the beginning of this fiscal year, we believed we had brought the college into fiscal balance through a combination of staff reductions, operating budget cuts and tuition increases. However, new revenue forecasts from the State along with declining property tax receipts and timber tax revenue means we are faced with the need to make an additional $1-million budget cut effective before July 1, 2012. We have faced this situation with grim resolve and taken the immediate steps necessary to balance the 2011-2012 budget.
New cuts which we began to announce on November 2 will affect all aspects of the college. We have made additional operational reductions, left vacant positions unfilled, reduced support and administrative staff, and now must face faculty reductions, fee increases and an additional increase in tuition.
For many years, the college has utilized a healthy proportion of full-time faculty. Regrettably, this option is no longer affordable. Similar to other Oregon community colleges, we must increase the share of courses taught by qualified adjunct faculty. We have no doubt that students’ educational needs will be met; that students will continue to graduate and succeed; and that employers and our local community will continue to find highly trained workers and educated citizens coming from Clatsop Community College programs. Clatsop Community College will offer a comprehensive range of classes that supports certificates, degrees, skill development and transfer opportunities.
We at Clatsop Community College remain focused on creating opportunity and building community for the citizens of Clatsop County and beyond. With the generous support and assistance from our community partners and the citizens of the North Coast, CCC will continue its mission of developing a highly skilled and educated citizenry for the next 50 years and beyond.
The future of this institution largely depends upon how we respond in the coming days, weeks, and months. We ask you to join us in a unified community response to sustain and strengthen Clatsop Community College. Your financial support will help prevent even more detrimental reductions and may permit some positions to be reinstated in the fall. We can and should work together to provide the best possible educational opportunity for everyone who lives and works here.
I welcome your ideas (ideas@clatsopcc.edu).
Larry Galizio, President
Clatsop Community College
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