LYNNWOOD — The curtain could come down on Edmonds Community College’s drama program.
Facing years of red ink — with only more to come — the college’s president has proposed axing the program, which sees fewer students, as part of mid-year budget cuts required by the state. Already, the college’s winter course catalog does not list theater classes.
The board of trustees will next discuss the budget at its Nov. 10 meeting. There will be time for public comment.
A group of more than 35 college thespians and supporters who showed up at a special board meeting Oct. 14 were not given a chance to speak their minds; a public comment time was not included on that agenda. The group was invited back to the November meeting.
“The reality is a lot of students come here because of the theater program,” said Melina Boivin, an EdCC alumna who creates costumes on a contractual basis for the college.
Since 2008, the college has lost $6.4 million in state funding. On top of that, officials have been told to brace for a $2.6 million shortfall in 2011.
College leaders have asked the board to declare a state of financial emergency for the 2011-13 biennium, something they say is needed to help keep the college’s doors open. It follows a state of financial emergency declared by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. In the past three years, the state’s two-year college system has lost 21 percent of its state funding.
If approved, layoffs could come more quickly under a streamlined process that involves a 60-day window to notify faculty and conclude dismissal review hearings. Many faculty already have received Reduction in Force notices. Drama department Chairwoman Joanna Goff is among those who could lose their jobs; her contract expires at the end of the school year. She declined comment.
College officials so far have been able to balance the budget through attrition and early retirement, as well as tuition hikes. Now it’s down to people and programs, said Marty Cavalluzzi, vice president of instruction and chief academic officer.
“I feel terrible for anyone losing their job at this college or anywhere else,” he said. “None of this is taken lightly. We’re trying to serve students and keep the college open.”
College officials are looking at the cost to run programs, enrollment numbers and whether the class is an elective or a core class, he said. Cavalluzzi declined to speak about specific faculty.
“This college will no longer be like the college it was in 2008,” Cavalluzzi said.
College President Jack Oharah included the drama program in a list of proposed budget cuts. Low enrollment in drama classes — at less than 75 percent capacity — is behind the decision.
Edmonds’ dramatic arts classes have a 22 to 1 student to faculty ratio during the current school year, according to the state board for community and technical colleges. Everett Community College has a ratio of 19 to 1 and Shoreline has 18 to 1.
The recommendation was presented to the board at a Sept. 13 meeting. The vote was then postponed during the board’s Oct. 14 meeting to give officials time to talk with labor unions. Board members will decide on cuts before winter quarter begins Jan. 3.
Boivin, the costumer, said the program had been getting the short shrift already, saying the Black Box Theatre was originally supposed to stage seven student shows but that was whittled down to three. Organizations paying to use the space get priority, according to Boivin.
“We’re not priority in that space,” she said. “It goes against the grain of education.”
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