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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend April 21, 2006 Budget to reduce RCC spending By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Limited state funding for community colleges has prompted Rogue Community College administrators to propose eliminating unfilled jobs, terminating leases, reducing travel and publication spending and freezing the amount spent on materials and supplies. RCC officials have proposed a $27 million budget for 2006-07, reducing spending by 4.3 percent, or $1.2 million, from this year’s $28.2 million budget. The cuts come on top of a tuition increase the college’s board approved last month. "This has been a very painful and difficult process," said Lynda Warren, budget officer and dean of college services. "We felt we were stable, then had to make additional cuts as a direct result of state funding reductions." Fourteen vacant positions, including jobs in facilities maintenance, management and teaching, will remain unfilled in the coming year, Warren said. That will save about $600,000. Advertisement Current employees will be reassigned or take on new duties to ensure services to students are maintained, she said. Last year, RCC bought three buildings and was given another at its downtown Medford Riverside campus. It plans to terminate another lease this spring to move into space it now owns. That will save roughly $330,000 in the coming year, Warren said. Cutting the budget for travel and changing how the school produces on-campus publications will save another $120,000. A reduced amount set aside for contingencies and other minor spending adjustments round out the $1.2 million in cuts. The state Legislature provided less money than community college presidents requested and distributed it according to a formula that limited the amount RCC got because of past enrollment declines and local tax rates, Warren said. RCC President Peter Angstadt wrote in his budget message that $7.9 million in state funding makes up just 29 percent of the school’s proposed budget. Two years ago RCC received 34 percent of its funding from the state and in 2005-06 it received $8.7 million, or 31 percent of its total funding, from the state. Students are picking up more of the bill. A $5-per-credit tuition increase starting this summer is projected to raise $600,000 in the coming year. It likely will cost full-time students $60 to $75 a term. With the tuition increase, revenue from tuition and fees is budgeted at about $8.1 million, or 30 percent of the school’s total funding, up from 27 percent in 2005-06. "Raising tuition was a tough decision and made only after listening carefully to students’ concerns," Angstadt’s budget message said. "In this process, it became clear that a priority for our students is maintaining access to quality programs and classes so they can complete college in a timely manner." Local property owners are providing a larger share of RCC’s funding, too. Property taxes account for $8.5 million, or 32.5 percent of the total funding, in the proposed budget, up from 30.2 percent in 2005-06. Carryover money from the previous year and transfers from other funds also contribute to RCC’s overall funding. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail Budget to reduce RCC spending ">[email protected] . RCC’s budget: The Rogue Community College budget is available for review at www.roguecc.edu/budget/2006_07/Proposed/ on the Web, or in the college’s Office of Budget and Financial Services on the Redwood Campus in Grants Pass from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The budget committee will have a hearing on the proposed budget May 16. The board is set to adopt a budget June 20. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisement s