06/15/04
For immediate release
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.
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