FOR
RELEASE: IMMEDIATELY
DATE: January 30, 2009
CONTACT: Lisa
Skari, (206) 870-3705, lskari@highline.edu
Highline Community College cuts $2.1 million
DES MOINES, Wash. —Highline
Community College administrators announced today their decision on how to deal
with the college’s $2.1 million budget cut necessitated by Governor Chris
Gregoire 2009–11 biennial budget.
Cuts include non-renewal of the
lease for Highline’s Federal Way branch campus and closure of the Early
Childhood Learning Center, the college’s childcare center for students. These closures, along with reductions within
individual program areas, will mean the elimination of 44 full-time
positions. These cuts are effective July
1, 2009.
“The downturn in the economy
has hit home, and the college must make difficult choices to address the
shortfall in the state’s budget,” said Highline President Dr. Jack
Bermingham. “We are committed to
preserving core functions, yet will significantly scale back selected services
and offerings. Our number one goal with these cuts is to protect instructional
capacity, maintain core student services and sustain the essential
administrative infrastructure of the Highline.”
Highline’s Federal Way campus
offers basic skills and non-credit business courses. It is also home to the Puget Sound Early
College (PSEC), a dual-enrollment credit cohort program for high school juniors
and seniors.
“We are committed to serving
the Federal Way community,” said Bermingham.
“In conversations with Federal Way city officials, we are working
together to find ways to continue to provide services in Federal Way.
In the future, as the economy
recovers and the College receives additional resources, we hope to find another
facility more centrally located, and better served by public transportation. ”
College officials will hold two
community forums on the Federal Way campus.
For PSEC students and parents, the forum is scheduled for Feb. 4 at 7
p.m. A second forum for the community is
scheduled for Feb. 11 at 7 p.m.
While the Governor reduced
budgets, she did not decrease Highline’s full-time equivalent student
target. This means Highline must serve
the same number of students with considerably less funding. As a result, students will encounter larger
classes, fewer course choices and less convenient class locations.
“There is a growing demand for
our services,” said Jeff Wagnitz, vice president of Instruction. “The economic
downturn and resulting layoffs mean more people are looking to us for
retraining. Highline has had record enrollments, but the college has struggled
to meet this demand. Fewer resources
next year will exacerbate student access. ”
Since the first signs of the
economic downturn last year, hiring at the college has been carefully
scrutinized. Of the 44 positions eliminated, seven were vacant. In making these decisions, Highline officials
say they have tried to make cuts that would minimize impact on students.
“Highline is a strong
institution,” said Bermingham, “and we are hopeful for a turnaround in the
state’s economy. These measures will
ensure that we continue to prepare our state’s workforce for the jobs of today
and tomorrow to restore stability and prosperity. Highline Community College will remain a key
resource for the state’s economic recovery and is clearly essential in
providing higher education and training for our community.”
Highline
Community College was founded in 1961 as the first community college in King
County. With approximately 10,000 students and 350,000 alumni, it is one of the
state’s largest institutions of higher education. The college offers a wide
range of academic transfer and professional-technical education programs, with
day, evening, online and weekend classes.
With
the most diverse population of any college in Washington State, Highline takes
a multicultural approach to education for the success of all its students and
the prosperity of its surrounding communities. Alumni include former Seattle
Mayor Norm Rice, entrepreneur Junki Yoshida and Washington state poet laureate
Sam Green.
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