Update from Les 4-16-10

The legislature has passed a final supplemental budget for the remainder of the 2009-11 biennium.  While we may still need to clarify some of the implications, here are some of the key points.

Our total operating budget cut is $1,859,000.  That’s $259,000 more than our initial estimates.

A portion of the cut ($586,000) falls under the “furlough” bill.  Higher education is allowed to achieve this cut through a combination of methods.  Our intention is to focus on cuts that do not require furlough days.

Regarding student aid, the State Need Grant remains essentially intact.  State work study is reduced by about 30 percent and some smaller aid programs are eliminated.  

The move of the Labor Center to Seattle Central Community College is confirmed.

We received $125,000 to support our pre-planning for a Biomass Gasification plant.

The budget cuts and fee increases that we implemented last year anticipated that we would face additional cuts this year.  In particular, the budget reductions we implemented last year were enough to cover roughly one-third of the budget cut we need to implement for the next fiscal year.  We are proposing to postpone roughly one-third of the new cut, relying on reserves and other funds to maintain some services until the end of the biennium (June 30, 2011).  This leaves us needing to cut about $666,000 from the budget for the next fiscal year.  Most of this cut (about $475,000) we hope to accomplish by shifting expenses out of the operating budget to other sources of revenue.  This will leave about $191,000 in actual cuts that need to be made on July 1. In this way, we hope to mitigate some of the effects of this budget reduction in the near term, while we undertake a more comprehensive planning process for the 2011-13 biennium.

We will be ready to share a more detailed proposal, including recommendations for making these cuts next week.  We plan some budget-related forums to share our recommendations, collect comments and answer questions.  An all-campus budget forum is planned for Wednesday, April 21 from 3:00 to 4:30 in the Recital Hall of the Com Building.   In addition, we plan to discuss our budget proposals with the Geoduck Student Union at their April 21 meeting. Information about the time and location of the GSU's open meeting will be forthcoming.

Les Purce, President