State budget cuts CC funds by $400k

Clarendon College will lose some funding following this year’s state budget crisis, but CC officials say it was not as bad as it could have been.

Altogether, the college will see about $400,000 less in funds from the state over the next two years.

“Overall, the impact of the cuts, while alarming and disappointing, could have been much worse,” CC President Phil Shirley said. “We are pleased that more cuts were not made where Clarendon College was concerned.”

CC will lose about $300,000 in direct state appropriations and another $100,000 from the elimination of education programs in the state prison system. Clarendon had about 60-80 students in classes at the Roach Unit in Childress and the Jordan Unit in Pampa. The prison cuts will have far reaching consequences, Shirley said.

“It is a sad day when we have no courses to offer in prisons because studies show that the more education people get in prison, the less likely they are to return to prison,” Shirley said. “This [cut] is in no way good news for the college, the prisoners, or the community.”

With regards to CC employees working within the prison program, Shirley said the college is still studying the situation as to how to best spread the impact of that cut over the college budget.

The cuts also include elimination of about $200,000 for employee insurance, which will be absorbed into the college’s operating budget, CC Dean of Administrative Services Annette Ferguson said.

While $400,000 is a tremendous loss for CC, Shirley said the college was warned initially that it could face a cut of $1.2 million and that it ultimately made plans for losing between $600,000 and $800,000.

“We feel very fortunate,” Shirley said, but he noted that the governor can still veto the funding for community colleges.

Consistent growth in enrollment over the last several years and the addition of supplemental funding for small colleges helped lessen the expected cuts for CC.

With the cuts being less than expected, the college will also be able to tackle some maintenance projects that will ultimately save the college money, including replacing some dilapidated water and sewer lines and upgrading some dorm furniture with more durable replacements, which will also be more comfortable and attractive.

Shirley credited Ferguson for planning expenditures that will save the college money in the long run by cutting down on maintenance costs and also help attract and retain students by improving dorm life.

The president said CC will largely be able to overcome the loss of the students in the prison system by absorbing a nursing program in Childress.

The Board of Regents approved a memorandum of understanding with the Childress County Hospital District last Thursday, which allows CC to take over the hospital’s nursing program this fall, pending state approval. CC will upgrade facilities at its Childress Center to accommodate the program, which has about 17 students.

Ferguson and Shirley noted that although headcount in the nursing program is lower than in the prison program, nursing students take more class hours, which is the basis for state funding. Students in the Childress program will now benefit from being able to apply for financial aid through the college and their class time at CC will transfer to a university if they choose to further their education.