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More Cuts Made at JCC
In adopting a balanced budget for the 2004-05 fiscal year, Jackson Community College's Board of Trustees approved several cost-cutting measures at their meeting Monday, June 14, 2004. These cuts include closing the Johnson Downtown Center and the Lenawee Flight Center, discontinuing the College's subsidy of the Dahlem Environmental Education Center, raising tuition rates, hiking performing arts ticket prices and more.
"With the College's state assistance shrinking, stagnant local support and limits to tuition increases, we had to make deeper cuts," said JCC President Daniel J. Phelan, who presented the budget proposal to the Board of Trustees. "We put everything on the table in deciding where to scale back. Additionally, some programs will be discontinued this year, and others will be watched closely to see if they are viable and, if not, more cuts will come at the end of our next fiscal year, June 30, 2005."
Trustees adopted a $30M budget for the 2004-05 fiscal year that increases in-district tuition by 2.3%. Out-of-district and out-of-state tuition rates will increase by 7%. College officials had to identify sources of revenue, cut a number of staff and administrative positions, and reduce expenditures to balance the budget for the coming year.
"These cuts are difficult for us to make. We recognize the value of all of these services and programs, but cuts had to made," said Board of Trustees Chair Dennis DaPra. "Struggling with the budget shortfalls has been a painful undertaking."
Specific cost-cutting measures adopted by the College include:
- The College will discontinue classes at the Johnson Downtown Center and move those classes to the main campus in Summit Township for the fall semester. Statistics show that 76 percent of students who take classes at the downtown site also take classes at main campus, indicating those students do have access to main campus. Also, JCC will increase the number of buses that travel to JCC by Jackson Transportation Authority (JTA), from three to six per week day. This closure will eliminate two part-time staff positions. The Downtown Center will close as of Aug. 13, 2004, the end of the Spring/Summer term.
- The former Jacobson's Building downtown is officially on the market and available for sale. JCC officials expect to sell the building immediately.
- JCC will cut the $50,000 per year allocated for the Dahlem Center and separate the center from College operations. JCC intends to lease the land to the Dahlem Center to be used for educational and environmental purposes. This will eliminate two full-time and three part-time positions from the College. The transfer is to be completed by December 31.
- The Lenawee Flight Center will be closed July 31, 2004. Summer classes currently underway will finish, and students will be urged to continue at the Jackson Flight Center. One part-time support position will be eliminated, and an instructor will be relocated back to the Jackson Flight Center. Officials have stated that the Flight Center program is expensive for the College to run. With the reassignment of the Lenawee instructor back to Jackson, the Center hopes to add more weekend flight training and add more Lenawee students. The Flight program at the Jackson County Airport needs to become financially viable in one year.
- Tuition rates will be increased 2.3 percent. Regular in-county tuition will be $70.50 per billing contact hour, which remains in line with Gov. Jennifer Granholm's restrictions. Out-of-county residents will pay $95 per billing contact hour, an increase of 7 percent and out-of-state tuition will rise to $116 per billing contact hour.
- All classes at outreach sites in Jackson County, including Grass Lake, Western and Northwest high schools, will be discontinued and consolidated onto main campus.
- Students will have fewer course choices as reductions will be made in course offerings in several areas. JCC will continue in its demand-driven approach to programs, with the possibility of classes with fewer students being discontinued. The College will continue to work toward being a "niche" college, with a large focus on the nursing and allied health programs and others that continue to do well because of high market demand for those occupations.
- JCC will increase costs to patrons at performing arts events and for those renting college facilities for meetings, parties, events, etc. Performing arts events at the Potter Center will have to balance out at the end of this year, or they will be discontinued as of June 30, 2005.
Earlier this fiscal year, JCC discontinued its Business and Industry Development Center and consolidated remaining job training services under current staff when director Deborah Strohaver left the College to head Foote Health University. All BIDC services will be discontinued at the end of the current fiscal year. In the past two years, JCC has balanced its budget in a variety of cost-cutting measures, including laying off employees, closing the Michigan Space and Science Center, discontinuing manufacturing programs, and cutting continuing education classes for the community.
