Budget cuts at YVCC present challenges

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Students at Yakima Valley Community College can expect fewer course offerings and shorter tutoring hours next year as a result of a $944,000 budget cut.

The cut was included in the 2010-2011 operating budget, which totals $24.7 million. The number does not reflect additional funding given to YVCC to pay rising health care costs and one-time expenses; money that isn't a part of the current fiscal year's budget.

The budget year runs from July 1 through June 30.

"There will be shorter hours in the library, longer lines for financial aid," President Linda Kaminski said. "There will be adjustments."

The cut originally was set at $1.5 million but was partially backfilled with emergency reserves and a 7 percent tuition increase. The rate hike was approved by the state board in May and affects the entire community and technical college system.

Through it, YVCC is expected to generate about $592,000. Full-time students will pay $3,458 in tuition next year, or about $226 more than what they pay now.

The reductions include $301,000 in everything from travel and equipment to goods and services. Personnel was cut by $643,000, which includes a combination of reducing staff hours, leaving vacant positions unfilled and eliminating four nonfaculty positions.

In addition, fewer part-time faculty will be hired, meaning there won't be as many class offerings, Kaminski said. Basic skills classes took the biggest hit, with courses now centered on campus instead of in churches and schools across the community.

"It's a very scary situation," Kaminski said. "When you lay off people, the work is still here. Everyone is working harder, trying to serve the students we have with limited resources."

The cuts come at the same time enrollment is increasing. YVCC enrolled more than 6,000 students -- who took at least one class -- this spring, and is expecting even more next year.

Most of YVCC's funding comes from the state, which is determined by the number of full-time equivalent students enrolled. This spring, the state did not fund 415 FTEs and won't fund an anticipated 545 this fall.

Over the past three years, Kaminski said YVCC has slashed $4 million from the school's operating budget. The community college employs about 330 full-time staff, 115 of whom are faculty.

*Erin Snelgrove can be reached at 509-577-7684 or esnelgrove@yakimaherald.com.