BY DR. EILEEN ELY
President, Green River College

There have been several inquiries from students and community members about the budget tensions at Green River College. First and foremost, no decisions have been made to cancel or reduce any programs at the college.

Green River College, like many of the other community and technical colleges in Washington, is facing budget challenges. Since 2008, the funding that Green River College has received from the state has been reduced from 67 to 40 percent of our operating budget.

The college’s budget is also being impacted by a decline in state-funded enrollments; currently, Green River’s enrollment is down 11 percent. As the economy has improved, fewer people are returning to college to further their education.

Unfortunately, this decline in state-funded enrollments has had a negative impact on tuition revenues. The gap in Green River’s budget is a direct result of the state providing less support for colleges that serve the critical needs of our diverse communities.

Green River and other colleges are feeling the impact of the decision in Moore vs. HCA, in which the Health Care Authority had advised the colleges on how to provide benefits to our part-time staff. The advice from this agency will cost the Washington Community and Technical College System more than $13.2 million. Green River’s share of this settlement is another $328,718 added to the growing gap.

The college is spending additional funds to support the under-funded, state mandated cost of living increases that all employees are receiving. Green River must additionally support the increase of nearly $1 million in faculty salaries, as detailed in the newly settled agreement.

These items, combined with several other factors, have created a gap of up to $4.5 million between revenues the college receives and the expense of operating Green River College.

Our fellow community and technical colleges throughout Washington are facing similar struggles. It was recently announced that the community colleges of Spokane are facing cutbacks in the wake of an $8 million deficit. Similarly, Clark College has cut $2.2 million in instruction this year.

The administration has been working diligently to realize efficiencies, generate revenue, or cut costs, in an effort to close the budget gap. Last week, the faculty were notified, as required by their contract, as to which instructional areas were being considered for reductions or cuts.

These notifications were based upon a proposal brought forward by Vice President of Instruction Derek Brandes. His proposal allows the college to minimize the impact to instructional areas by freezing open positions and generating up to $700,000 in new revenues.

Six faculty positions are being considered for elimination through this proposal, providing a savings of nearly $600,000 to the college. This is a significant reduction in the cuts that have been proposed to balance the college’s budget and saves many programs and faculty positions.

Student success is at the core of everything we do at Green River College. Across the college, faculty and staff work to serve students and provide a pathway to further education or a high-demand career. Unfortunately, this is not the story that students and community members are hearing about Green River.

When people speak from a place of partial information and fear, all too often they build up a situation to be something it is not. When there are threats to the college budget, they are often seen as threats to individuals and ideas, even if there is no threat. Negative ideas about Green River have spread on campus and in our community, and they are negatively affecting everyone.

We have an ethical obligation to tell the truth, and to stop perpetuating an unfounded climate of fear. We are interested in how we can make our programs more efficient, how we can do more at Green River with fewer resources from the state, and how we can help some areas generate more revenue. The administration and I aim to strengthen Green River and ensure the college will be here for another 50 years.

Dr. Eileen Ely is president of Green River College.