East Central Community College administration are bracing for the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, which shuttered school buildings in March.
In a Board of Trustees meeting May 12, the college instituted a pay freeze for the upcoming school year, keeping salary levels at their current rate. New hires would have their salary set based on years of experience as of July 1, 2019.
President Billy Stewart warned the school could see a decrease in state funding for the upcoming school year, and while he wasn’t recommending any action yet, the Board of Trustees needed to be aware additional cuts could become necessary.
“It’s not something you want to mention, but it’s something I would be derelict in my duty if I didn’t,” he said. “It is a possibility that due to decreases in state appropriations or other revenues, a decision regarding a hiring freeze may be necessary. In addition, a decrease in salary levels may be recommended to the board at a later date contingent on budget developments.”
The State Legislature has not yet passed a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1. Stewart said the college is working with what information it has, but there is a lot that is still unknown.
“We are basing this hiring freeze on a budget we do not have yet,” he said.
Vice President for Business Operations Mickey Vance told Trustees they may have to establish a temporary budget to tide the college over until more information can be gathered. East Central could see a decrease in funding, but how much, if any, is still unknown.
“There’s a lot of things still up in the air,” he said.
Another significant source of funding for the college, student enrollment, doesn’t look as dire. Vice President for Student Services Dr. Randall Lee said enrollment for Fall 2020 semester is down about 40 students from where it was last year; however he said summer enrollment is up compared to last year. After summer classes wrap up, he said some of those students will enroll in Fall classes, boosting the numbers.
Stewart said the college is looking at potential ways to trim the budget should it become necessary, including a hiring freeze, a 20 percent cut to all line items, eliminating positions and potential tuition increases. He said he wanted to be clear none of these things were being recommended and that they were for contingency planning only.
“Some of these are painful. Some of these would be painful, and it is my hope and desire that we don’t have to do them,” he said. “But, I think we would be derelict in our duty if we did not at least mention them.”
