Portage College Board of Governors and Administration are faced with cutting $1.4 million out of their almost $32-million budget for the 2011-2012 academic year.
The cut comes as a result of a zero per cent increase to the school’s government grant, forcing management staff to reorganize their budget and look more closely at costs, said Randy Benson, Chair of the Board of Governors at the College.
“It is a significant adjustment but we don’t see it as a major problem,” said Benson, adding that it’s a way for college administration to examine the internal workings of the college.
“It’s an opportunity for us to deal with the funds and look at ways to offer excellent education opportunities in an efficient and responsible fashion.”
One of the ways college officials are looking at reducing the extra $1.4 million is by looking at programs with 15 students or less and judging whether it’s a viable option to keep the program going.
“If a program is struggling and we cannot continue to invest resources, then we have to decide on its fate. We have to fund viable programs and programs in demand,” said Benson.
A projected 30 per cent decline in student numbers for the 2011-2012 school year has also forced the college to examine where the program and market demands are and where funds will be better spent, said College President Trent Keough.
Looking at vacant positions within the commercial, staff and administration sectors and keeping them vacant is also another proposed solution to reduce the budget, says the college president, adding that administration will be looking at keeping the positions vacant without affecting any current staff.
More than half of the $1.4 million in cuts has already been identified, said Keough, adding that it has been found without any negative impact on current salary conditions of their staff.
But with 85 per cent of every dollar the college receives going towards staffing dollars, there will be some minimal changes to be made.
“It will be the staffing dollar that will bare the brunt of our reallocations,” said Keough, adding that since the first stage of cuts went well, he is hopeful there will be little impact on staff.
“I am confident that we will continue to see minimal impact on our current personnel.”
Addressing administration costs on things like paper, food services and rental equipment are also being examined by the college administration and provide an opportunity to reduce costs further.
“There’s nothing like a depressed budget to focus your attention on how you can do things even better,” said Keough.
The administration is scheduled to form a detailed proposal to reduce the budget later this week and will then provide it to the Board of Governors for a decision by early March.
