College cuts, tuition hikes loom ahead

Published 5:41 pm Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Though proposed cuts to community colleges and universities are less than expected, students can likely expect tuition hikes and program and service cuts in the future.

Last month, community colleges statewide were told to brace for 20 percent cuts for the next two years. College officials started looking at layoffs, program cuts, enrollment caps and other dramatic measures to prepare.

Gov. Gregoire then revised her proposal and in the end, asked for a much softer 6 percent cut to community colleges and a 13 percent cut to universities in her final budget.

College officials are relieved the number is less.

But the number could get much worse, and students will still be affected even by a 6 percent cut, officials say.

“If the cut isn’t as deep it’s not going to affect students as drastically or programs or services, but it certainly will affect them,” said John Michaelson, vice president of college relations at Edmonds Community College. “We’re still looking at some pretty significant cuts.”

A 5 percent hike in community college tuition and a 7 percent increase in university tuition are also being proposed. Those would offset the cuts.

Even so, layoffs, turning students away, cutting programs and services and more are all still on the table, officials at Edmonds and Shoreline community colleges said.

No decisions have been made yet.

To complicate matters, the 6 percent number could change.

Legislators are expected to change the governor’s budget during the legislative session, which started this month and will wrap up in spring.

Changes to the budget will depend on how much worse the economy gets, the results of lawsuits from state employees about negotiated raises, and more.

“We’re not taking that 6 percent number as gospel,” said Jim Hills, Shoreline Community College special assistant to the president.

A 6 percent cut is just one scenario the college will prepare for, he said. Officials will meet this month to plan for cuts at Shoreline.

A layoff process was launched last month at the college that could have meant mid-year staff cuts. It hasn’t been decided yet if that will continue, given the change in the governor’s proposal, Hills said.

Edmonds Community College officials will also start meeting this month to make decisions.

They are preparing for a 10 percent cut, or 3 million over the next three years, which banks on a 5 percent tuition increase at the school.

Gregoire has said she reduced the cut to community colleges because she valued their role in helping the economy recover by training people for new jobs, and said they had less extras they could cut.

Her budget, which aims to fill a $5.7 billion deficit, proposes other difficult cuts that affect students of all ages, seniors, disabled, the poor and others.