Thousands of students will see such campus programs as athletics and fine arts reduced as a result of an estimated 22 percent budget cut from the Auxiliary Services Board.
As a result of years of deficit spending, Auxiliary Services is at the point where it can no longer increase its annual budget by removing money from the reserve fund, now valued at around $132,000 down hundreds of thousands of dollars from 2001.
“I can tell you that from the income we expect to generate this year, we cannot set up the same budget from last year,” Miriam Ifill, Auxiliary Services bookkeeper said “We would have to cut close to twenty two percent to break even.”
Every program on campus has the potential to see cuts. Programs at risk include athletics, fine arts, the Union newspaper, Puente Project, Project Success, the honors program, Early Start and the nationally recognized forensics team.
“The budget cuts are going to be very tough on the program. We haven’t had a budget increase in years. I think in the last maybe ten to fifteen years, we’ve had less than ten percent (cut) entirely so were already making do with less,” forensics coach Francesca Bishop said.
One of the potential problems of the cuts is that they could affect the Full Time Equivalent Status of students, which is the amount of full-time students attending EC.
If that number goes down due to a lack of quality programs, the state might reduce funding to the college, Harold Tyler, director of student development, said.
Friday, hearings were held by the Auxiliary Services Board to meet with program leaders to understand the impact that the cuts would have on their programs and how damaging they might be.
“We are still going to have our programs, but it’s going to be drastic,” Tyler said. “The object is to maintain our same level of services with fewer dollars and fewer personnel. Everyone goes through these kinds of cycles and it’s different times with different groups,” he said.
Although income has generally remained the same, expenses have dramatically increased, particularly costs related to transportation, uniforms, event security, catering and salaries.
“We have been spending the reserve and spending more than we made for quite a while, yet every program was growing and getting better,” Tyler said.
The main sources of income for Auxiliary Services include the bookstore, the $10 ASB sticker, weekend parking for patrons for a nearby outdoor market, investments and income produced by the Union and athletic and fine art Events.
“If students would purchase the ASB discount stickers, it would help increase the budget and of the Auxiliary Services fund,” Ifill said.
The Auxiliary Services Board will deliberate in meetings today and on Monday to finalize the budget and make a recommendation to President Dr. Thomas Fallo, who said he would review the recommendations and consult his vice presidents before making a final decision. He would not specify if he would follow the board’s recommendations.
“Until I read a recommendation I don’t know. I will review everything that they send and my main emphasis will be on the reliability of the income estimates. Income estimates are fairly reliable, but it is all conjecture until I see it,” he said.
