On Tuesday May 26 and May 27, 2009, the College had two separate meetings concerning the current budget status.
The informative session took place on Tuesday, 1:30- 2:30, in the Library Media Center (LMC) Event Center (D106).
While the sessions covered a wide variety of different topics, four issues were prominent. These were: the newly proposed parking fee, proportionate cuts from employee groups in order to preserve employees, streamlining the budget to allow funding for strategic college initiatives, as well as a request from BCCAHE leadership to fill replacement faculty positions and add new positions toward the 60 percent full-time goal.
The session also informed members that the College would be expected to have approximately $750,000 to reinstate towards the biennial budget. It was also made known that the College had received its allocation from the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges, and it was $102,560 less than anticipated.
The presentation also explained how the College has been working to reinstate critical staff positions and addressing new initiatives so that the College can remain at “the forefront of innovation, while meeting the anticipated needs of our community and the students we serve.”
This budget restored 3.25 classified positions, an exempt position and provided funding so that one more classified position may be restored. Also, since no full-time faculty positions were reduced from the current budget, none had to be reinstated.
Besides questions about losing or gaining positions, the hearing also addressed some of the reorganizational changes that would be taking place at the College in an attempt to try and “lean up” the College’s budget.
Some organizations that will be structurally modified include the Arts and Humanities Division, the Math and Science Division, the Social Sciences and Business Transfer Division, the Business and Technology Institute, Instructional Services Group, the Library Media Center, and others.
While the programs are not being closed down, the majority of them are merely experiencing minute changes that will hopefully end up saving the college money and resources.
On a slightly different note, the session transitioned towards a proposal to charge parking fees towards the faculty, staff, students, and the public for budgetary savings.
The College’s Parking Task Force had expanded upon the idea of charging fees to a program that could be linked to subsidized bus passes in promotion of the whole “green living” lifestyle.
Though the idea is still in the making and many kinks and various problems are sorted out, the fee program could be submitted to the College by as early as Spring Quarter of next year.