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Community Colleges Foresee Funding Declines

Flickr Creative Commons, Photo by 401kcalculator.org

Some community colleges in Wyoming are anticipating drops in state and local revenue, amid an oil and gas downturn.

Wyoming’s 7 community colleges receive about 60 percent of their funding from the state, 20 percent from local property taxes, and the other 20 from tuition.

While some colleges will see their local revenue impacted, Wyoming Community College Executive Director Jim Rose says the state has not announced it will cut any funding for community colleges.

“We don’t have a real reason for alarm in terms of our state aid portion—the portion that would come from the state general fund,” says Rose. “At the same time, that tax revenue in those 7 counties has fluctuated and for the most part is down. In some cases, in some counties, down fairly dramatically.”

Still, Central Wyoming College, for example, expects a $3.6 million shortfall in the next two years. That includes a projected reduction of $2.4 million in state aid.

Governor Mead will present his proposed budget on December 1.

Rose says reductions in community college funding would hurt students.

“What we’ve seen in the past when we have had budget cuts is you would start to see reduction in some ranks of faculty and staff,” says Rose. “Oftentimes, it is contingent or adjunct faculty who are going to be the first to go. But the impact on students means there may be fewer options, fewer sections that are available to a student.”

Meanwhile, state lawmakers are discussing changing the way community colleges are funded—to allow them more stability and long-term planning. 

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