Click the link directly below to review the Governor's plan.
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/tempcontent/FinalPlan_10-8.pdfIt is with mixed feelings that we announce that Germanna has responded to Gov. Kaine's call for a 5 percent budget reduction by implementing a plan that will avoid layoffs while trimming $577,291 in state spending for fiscal 2009.
The cost-cutting will force the deferment of the addition or expansion of several new programs and therefore will limit our ability to meet our communities needs, but averted the prospect of what could have been large-scale layoffs.
We are pleased not to have been forced to lay off good people who help us do the critical work in making our communities competitive, prosperous and educationally strong.
There had been concerns that the budget for the Virginia Community College System could have been slashed as much as 10 or 15 percent because of a state revenue shortfall resulting from a weak economy. Cuts that deep would have required terminating programs and laying off substantial numbers of employees.
Thankfully, the state cuts were not that severe, and we were able to protect all the members of our Germanna family.
The College’s budget is $22 million, about half of it appropriated by the state. The other half consists primarily of tuition and fees from the college’s total enrollment of 13,000. Germanna employs 520 people.
I’m gratified that the fiscal 2009 cut was no larger than 5 percent, which was the best-case projection, because there is very little fat to trim from the College’s budget.
We greatly appreciate the governor understanding how important the investment in community colleges is in turning the economy around and the fact that he did all he could to keep the cuts from hindering the performance of our mission here. And we are thankful to VCCS Chancellor Glenn DuBois for his untiring efforts in keeping cuts to a minimum.
We are grateful that we will not be forced to lay any of our people off this year. We understand the severity of the budget situation and the necessity for all parties to participate and make sacrifices. But, in addition to the terrible human impact layoffs would have had on employees and their families, and the emotional blow it would have been for all of us at Germanna, losing good people would have made our job of helping prepare the region for economic resurgence very difficult.
Still, this new round of cuts underlines the urgent need we have for private donations now more critical than ever in helping us to serve our communities.
Even as we celebrate maintaining job security within our Germanna family, there remain sacrifices that must be made and belts that must be tightened.
The Germanna reduction plan includes:
- Seeking to replace state general fund spending on the costs of employing one nursing faculty member by finding a local sponsor to pay for that position. This will result in a savings of $80,000.
- Deferring improvements planned for its Automotive Lab to comply with NATEF certification requirements. This will mean a savings of $7,000.
- Eliminating discretionary travel and membership spending, thereby reducing those budgets by one third compared to fiscal year 2008. The savings will be $100,000.
- Cutting non-personnel spending by reducing spending on supplies, furniture and the cyclical replacement of equipment, for the largest chunk of savings, $330,291.
- Eliminating an incentive budget spent on training employees on its “learning college” concept and incentives achieving objectives related to that concept for a savings of $60,000.
We continue to go forward with plans to open a center in North Stafford in 2009 and to begin construction of a third building at the college’s crowded
Fredericksburg Campus. Stafford County’s Economic Development Authority has approved a $300,000 grant to help with the opening of the center. The state has approved $23.3 million for the new building at the
Fredericksburg Campus. But $2.6 million in local funds must be raised before ground can be broken for construction of the new
Fredericksburg building.
We would be mortgaging our future if we were to put these plans off now because of the hard times of the moment and then had to turn students away later as a result. So we continue to seek local donors to invest in our area’s future by helping us build these facilities.
Even during these tough times, we see a bright future for
Germanna on the horizon and we continue to move ahead.
The potential for more cuts lies ahead, so we must maximize our efficiency and look for savings wherever we can.
But for now, let us take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate this, the most positive outcome possible under difficult circumstances.
--David A. Sam
President,
Germanna Community College
Dr. Sam will hold open forums for all Germanna employees to discuss the Governor’s budget reduction and the impact on the college. The forums will be held on: - Tuesday, October 14 from 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. in Sealy Auditorium at FAC
- Tuesday, October 14 from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. in room 503 at LGC.
|
