Bad news: Layoffs likely for 2010-11 school yearThanks to conservative budgeting last year, it looks like Northwest College can survive a 10-percent budget cut next year without any layoffs.“For the current year, we estimate that revenues will significantly exceed expenses,” NWC President Paul Prestwich wrote in a campus update on Tuesday. “We are proposing to carry forward some of the excess revenue ... into the (2009-10) budget to reduce — and hopefully eliminate — the need for a reduction in force (for the coming year)."

Prestwich will take that recommendation before the Northwest College Board of Trustees on May 11.

Prestwich credited that good fortune to fiscal prudence and sound budgeting, combined with lower-than-expected utility costs and money saved from positions that went unfilled for this academic year. In addition, NWC tuition income increased this year, in part due to tuition paid by teachers from Incheon, South Korea, who came to Northwest College last fall and this spring to study English and American culture.

He noted that this year's conservative budget plan already was in place when he came on board in June.

During budget discussions last year, Sheldon Flom, NWC finance director, told trustees he had adopted a conservative budget strategy because of uncertainty about the coming fiscal year. As it turns out, the economic uncertainty proved greater than he could have foreseen.

Brainstorming by college administrators, staff and faculty already has identified $835,000 in cost-cutting measures to prepare for a 5-percent cut in state funding — totaling $525,000 — and another $350,000 in expected reductions in local revenue. However, Wyoming's economic situation continues to worsen, leading Prestwich and others to believe the expected cut in state revenue is more likely to be at least 10 percent. Until Tuesday, it appeared the additional 5-percent cut would require staff and faculty layoffs.

Using reserves to cover the additional 5-percent cut, if necessary, will allow time needed for college administrators to determine the effects of a statewide strategic plan for Wyoming's seven community college districts now under way, as well as the effects of a new college funding formula now being developed. Neither will be completed until this fall, Prestwich said.

Then, once that information is available, college administrators can begin looking toward the next biennium and possible long-term changes that must be made. If layoffs are necessary at that point, Prestwich said he hopes to be able to give laid-off employees more notice, thereby providing them more time to look for other employment before the following school year (2010-11).

“We cannot guarantee we can provide such a timeframe, but it is our plan,” he said.

Waiting until sometime next fall to take more action also would allow additional time to reorganize college services.

“This is much better than if we had to implement a (reduction in force) now,” he said.

Prestwich cautioned that Gov. Dave Freudenthal plans to announce budget cuts for state agencies, including community colleges, for the coming year in June or July. If those cuts are larger than 10 percent, “all bets are off,” he said.

In that case, “We may need to implement a RIF (reduction in force) more immediately. Recent rumors from Cheyenne are that the question now is not whether we will have a 5-percent cut or a 10-percent cut, but whether the cut will be 10 percent or something greater.”

Continuing on a somber note, he added, “In any case, the long-term budget prognosis (fiscal year 2011-12 and beyond) for Northwest College is troublesome, especially compared to recent years. State revenues are decreasing, local tax revenues in some wealthy counties … are estimated to drop after next year, and it is possible that, although our enrollment will again increase next year, other Wyoming community colleges will have bigger increases. We need to prepare for leaner times. This will almost surely mean reduction in the size of our faculty and staff. Our hope is that we can avoid implementing those reductions until we have time to more effectively plan for them.”

Bob Krenz, NWC Faculty Organization president, said Prestwich's decision was good news, at least for the short term.

“We already have many hundreds of students registered for fall classes,” he said. “It seems very sensible and reasonable to defer layoffs. But all it is is a deferral until next year. That way, we can plan for it and not be canceling classes and activities that students have been anticipating.”