The big squeeze
Monday, Mar 6, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Quincy’s John Wood Community College is taking a big hit…
By design, the state is to supply one-third of funding for each of 48 community colleges in Illinois. In fiscal 2016, JWCC received a fraction of that fraction.
How bad was it?
In fiscal 2012, the college received close to $3.1 million from the state. In fiscal 2016, the figure had fallen to just under $344,000. […]
Over the last four fiscal years, JWCC has reduced its budget by $1.4 million. Most of that figure has come in the last two years when the college put a freeze on open positions, furloughed some employees at different times, eliminated a couple of programs, reduced travel costs, delayed equipment purchases and deferred maintenance projects.
* Related…
* Delay sends Richland project costs up by $485,000: The money was finally appropriated in the state’s 2010 budget… A ceremonial groundbreaking was held in October 2014 with then Gov. Pat Quinn… The structure that is to become the college’s Student Success Center has been sitting unfinished for nearly 17 months. But that has changed in recent weeks, as general contractors from Highland-based Korte & Luitjohan have restarted work on the long-delayed project.
- Anonymous - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 10:12 am:
I don’t believe they are even mentioning the additional loss of the MAP dollars as well.
Richland also cut several positions a few weeks ago including a VP and the head of human resources.
- Annonin' - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 10:15 am:
The continued hollowin’ out of colleges and universities does not bode well for restoring prosperity.. this is a total 1%er gambit and being copies in MO and KY.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 10:16 am:
Governors put their names on buildings, with plaques and the monies within budgets to make those buildings donegal they are designed to do. In this case, educate Illinoisans.
Rauner may be the governor that will be known how putting more plywood planks on buildings, covering up windows of shuttered Community Colleges and four year Universities.
Closing Higher Education institutions is best done passively by just flat out “un-fund” those institutions, and let them collapse upon thrmselves.
This isn’t a bug, it’s a feature.
- AnonymousOne - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 10:17 am:
This is all because we value Education so much. /s
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 10:18 am:
“do what they are”
Apologies.
- illini - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 10:29 am:
@Willy - “This isn’t a bug, it’s a feature.” Exactly!
- Anonymous - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 10:54 am:
I’m not sure how killing edu institutions translates to a pro growth agenda.
But, then again, I didn’t study my Milton Friedman or my Arthur Laffler.
- Teward As Well.... - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 11:04 am:
Maybe ole “black heart” and Chance should meet again, kick back have a beer and iron all of this out.
- Anonymous - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 11:17 am:
State officials lied about the state providing 1/3 of the cost of junior colleges.
That lie goes back over 50 years.
The promise was never fulfilled.
- Anonymous - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 11:28 am:
When the stories were about CSU and EIU being hurt, some pro-Rauner people were quick to jump in and say “good” because those places needed it. Where are those pro-Rauner people now? Are they still happy?
- illini - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 11:53 am:
Much of the discussion on this site when it comes to Higher Ed has focused on the UofI and the Regionals.
This crisis is a largely unrecognized aspect of the Rauner agenda. While most of the discussion is focused on K-12, the reality is that there are a great many HS graduates, or those older “students” seeking to gain new skills that will be welcomed into the job market, who are being impacted by the massive cuts being made by these Community Colleges.
Yet, most are unaware of the cuts and changes being made. This is not an accident, it is intentional and it will only get worse.
- striketoo - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 12:52 pm:
We need to move toward tying funding of government services closer to the level of government that administers those funds. Thus state tax funds would largely fund state activities and local activities would be mostly funded at the local level. The only exception to this would be state subsidies for extremely poor areas to help them meet minimum standards. As an example, this would reduce the unsustainable practice of shifting last minute super-sweetened pensions to the state level.
- wordslinger - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 12:56 pm:
Is tuning up community colleges good for the economy, attracting “job creators,” providing citizens with job skills and stemming population decline Downstate?
In Bizarroworld?
- RNUG - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 12:58 pm:
== As an example, this would reduce the unsustainable practice of shifting last minute super-sweetened pensions to the state level. ==
That’s already been reformed. The local school districts are now on the hook for any last minute raises beyond a small percentage.
- DuPage - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 1:07 pm:
State funding for community colleges has been short for many years, but Rauner has cut what already small amount they were getting.
Some,(like college of DuPage), have lots of reserves of money to fall back on for at least a couple more years without cutbacks. Some other community colleges are down to their last dollar.
All of them are owed a lot of money. Any business that needs to have employees with technical skills and training takes unfavorable notice of what is happening in Illinois.
- Honeybear - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 1:59 pm:
DeVosian move by Rauner for private schools or voucher set up
- Precinct Captain - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 2:21 pm:
But Rauner got richer! Isn’t that all that matters?
- chad - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 4:50 pm:
OW is right here. The dramatic underfunding is going to lead to either collapse of the most vulnerable community colleges or mergers preserving names and strip-down campus locations. In some cases the need for the existing pre-war scale operations and locations are not needed. Similarly, the rationale for so many state universities that can “do it all” is no longer strong. However, the bleeding is a sad way to make policy. It occurs to me as I am writing this that the whole higher ed situation could have been reorganized and right-sized in a proactive manner if we were a functioning legislature. So sad.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 5:11 pm:
(Tips cap humbly to - chad - and - illini -)
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 5:20 pm:
Wonder what Jil Tracy and Randy Frese have to say.
- G'Kar - Monday, Mar 6, 17 @ 8:29 pm:
Last week Rock Valley College laid off 28 full time faculty positions. Black Hawk got rid of 8. This is happening all over Illinois.