SCC Board Chairperson Maxine Russell greets IL. Senator Gary Forby at the Southern Illinois Community Colleges Legislative Breakfast, as SCC's Chief Financial Officer Tiffiney Ryan looks on.

AREA’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE CONCERNED ABOUT FUNDING ICCB OFFERS SUGGESTIONS TO ALLEVIATE PRESSURE

1/7/10
Shannon Woodworth - Shawnee News Service

Eight community colleges from throughout Southern Illinois came together Monday with one common concern: state funding. Officials from the area’s community colleges were join...ed by a number of state lawmakers who offered a sympathizing ear but little optimism for the near future.

"The past three or four years I have been saying we are headed off a cliff, and now we are there. In fact, we are over a bigger cliff than you ever can imagine," said State Senator Dave Leuchtefeld (R-Okawville).

State Senator Gary Forby (D-Benton) said he has an "old-fashioned" belief that that the state should pay its bills. Currently, the state has about a $13 billion budget deficit, and has $3.5 billion of overdue, unpaid bills.

"My belief is that the state should pay its bills," Forby said. "I voted for a revenue bill to help do this because I simply do not see how we can cut our way out of the problem the state is facing right now. But there was not enough support in the House to pass a new revenue stream. It failed, and now everyone wants to know, ‘what do we do now?’"

Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) Chairman Guy Alongi offered a long list of "truths" that community colleges currently face due to funding shortfalls.

"Truth," he said, "the state currently owes $850 million in payments to universities and community colleges.

"Truth, community colleges are considering closing enrollments, cutting classes, and furloughing workers. We have community colleges having trouble making payroll," Alongi added. "Truth, without community colleges training the unemployed, we can’t turn the economy around because you will not have properly retrained workers."

Introduced by Geoff Obrzut, president/CEO of the ICCB, Ellen Andres, ICCB chief financial officer, explained that the eight Southern Illinois Community Colleges have more than geography in common, but share a number of common financial similarities that make the region unique to the rest of the state.

The most apparent common characteristic, she said, is each of the colleges’ high dependency on state revenues to carry on day-to-day operations. When compared to the community college system as a whole, the Southern Illinois community colleges are more than twice as dependent on the state for operating revenue. The Southern Illinois community colleges receive 38 percent of their revenue from the state, compared to 17 percent for the statewide average.

Andres concluded that the present and growing cash flow problems area community colleges experience with state revenues are so large that it is impossible for them to close the gap between cash available and expenditures no matter what actions are taken on a local level in terms of cuts and tuition increases.

But ICCB officials offered three ways lawmakers could support Southern Illinois community colleges during the current crisis: - Urge the comptroller’s office to release the ICCB payment vouchers that include the Southern Illinois community colleges’ payments as early as possible.

- Support legislative changes that affect working cash fund debt issuance. Change the multiplier affecting the working cash fund bond issuance size from a 75 percent multiplier to 150 percent multiplier. The multiplier is applied to the combined maximum operating fund tax levy plus the corporate personal property replacement taxes to determine the maximum working cash fund debt issue.

- Insist that, given enrollment increases statewide, community college funding for FY 2011 not drop below the current budgeted level. Brad McCormick, chief financial officer for John A. Logan College, presented a PowerPoint presentation where he outlined the importance of community colleges in Southern Illinois. He noted that the region’s community colleges have more than 54,000 students and assist in one way or another nearly 1.25 million residents.

McCormick also compiled reports from all the area’s community colleges on what concerns they are currently facing and what problems will be faced in the next fiscal year.

SCC Board of Trustees Chairperson Maxine Russell joined Dr. Larry Peterson, president of Shawnee Community College, at the breakfast. Peterson said that with the state’s current financial outlook, SCC is expecting to cut between $1.4 and $1.8 million or 10 to 13 percent of its operating budget.

"College administration and the board of trustees are looking at all areas of the college to determine the best way to administer these cuts," Peterson said.

The breakfast was held at John A. Logan College.

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