President Carol Lucey: Western Nevada College will endure latest cuts

Even though Western Nevada College is seeing increasing student enrollment and a reduction in funding, President Carol Lucey says the school can survive with the budget proposed by the legislative money committees.

The compromise agreed to by the money committees would reduce General Fund appropriations for WNC from $22 million a year to $19.6 million " a 10.8 percent cut. She said that is far better than the 38 percent reduction for the school contained in the governor's proposed budget.

Lucey said the economy is driving the enrollment increase.

"Head count is up by 33 percent or so, and there are so many more coming back full-time," she said.

Her most recent report shows full-time, degree-seeking students up

63 percent from a year ago.

As for who is enrolling, she said, they are young people seeking career training and those who have recently lost a job.

"This is different from anything I've ever experienced here," she said. "They're looking for a skill set, not the occasional class."

Lucey said that despite the growth, the additions lawmakers agreed to for her budget will enable her to fill several vacant positions.

"The first priority will be the classroom teachers," she said. "I have four disciplines where we offer a degree but don't have a full-time faculty member, and that's not right."

Lucey said she hopes to hire a surgical technician, automotive technician, engineering professor and a physics professor. Also on her list is a professional coordinator to run the Douglas County campus.

She said as a result of buyouts of some professional positions during the budget crunch, WNC will be able to keep all of its remote campuses.

"But we will not be able to offer the level of services we offered before," she said.

She said she is discussing with her staff several areas where she has major concerns. First is the cost of living adjustments. The 4.6 percent salary cuts ordered by lawmakers will automatically be applied to classified staff who are state workers.

But the professional staff, she said, are contract employees and those contracts have notice requirements. She said the only way those salaries can be cut is if those professionals are willing to do it voluntarily.

Lucey said she is also worried about attracting good staff when so much of the budget is one-shot money that will not be there in two years. She pointed to the 3 percent room tax which will go only to K-12 education two years from now and the federal stimulus money.

"All that money is going to go away."

Her remaining concern, she said, is getting lawmakers to allow her school and the others in the system to begin building a stabilization fund. Under existing law, any state money not spent in the biennium reverts to the state treasury.

Allowing WNC to keep any remaining money, she said, would give her a pad down the road to avoid deep cuts in times of economic trouble.

"I would like to build a 10 percent stabilization fund so this can never happen to us again," she said, adding that it would take several years to build.

Overall, however, she said the campus will still be able to provide students with the education they need to improve their lives.

"I think we're going to be OK," she said.