Education – Howard College Budget
March 1, 2010
College slicing budget
By STEVE REAGAN
Staff Writer
In response to a “suggestion” from state leadership, Howard College is
slicing $1 million from its operating budget over the next two years.
Howard, along with Texas’ other community colleges, universities and
selected other agencies, are being asked by state officials to look for ways
to trim 5 percent of their expenses to help the state weather the economic
downturn.
A letter signed by Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House
Speaker Joe Straus, gave the agencies until Feb. 15 to submit the plan.
“And we’ve done that,” Howard College President Dr. Cheryl Sparks said. “We
have cut certain operating expenses and in the area of salaries, we are
freezing positions — we will not fill some vacancies if they arise or we’ll
reassign employees if necessary.”
Sparks said the college will cut $847,000 from the Howard College budget and
more than $300,000 from SouthWest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf during
this biennium to bring the district into compliance with the state mandate.
Although the original letter from state leadership merely asked for ways for
the agencies to trim their budgets, Sparks said the college decided to act
as if it were a set-in-stone requirement.
“As we gathered information from sources in Austin and we continued to watch
state revenue trends, it appeared that we needed to plan accordingly,”
Sparks said. “We determined that the prudent course of action would be to go
ahead and implement the plan.”
Pending further instructions from the state, the college is merely “setting
aside” the revenue for now rather than sending it directly to Austin, she
added.
Sparks said she was unsure how the cuts would effect college services.
“We will certainly try to limit the number of services we cut,” she said.
“But, with a tighter budget, that will be more difficult.”
Also, the timing of the budget cuts are making a big impact.
“It’s more difficult at this time of the year to make cuts,” Sparks said.
“Many of the things we budget for, we spend the money at the start of the
fiscal year in September. As it stands now, we are having to cut money
budgeted for day-to-day operations.”
It is still to be determined how long the cuts will be required. Sparks said
information she’s received indicates they will effect this biennium and the
next, but the picture is unclear after that.
“Of course, if the economy rebounds, that will paint a more positive picture
as we move forward,” Sparks said.
Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at
[email protected]
Source:
http://www.bigspringherald.com/content/view/206505/60/