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NWC President Paul Prestwich said that will mean cutting about $525,000 from Northwest College's budget, depending on how the Wyoming Community College Commission defines the college's share of the state block grant that funds community …
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Administrators and faculty at Northwest College are working to find ways to cut $875,000 out of the college's budget for the coming academic year.Gov. Dave Freudenthal has instructed all state departments and agencies, including the Wyoming Community College Commission, to cut their budgets by 5 percent for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
NWC President Paul Prestwich said that will mean cutting about $525,000 from Northwest College's budget, depending on how the Wyoming Community College Commission defines the college's share of the state block grant that funds community colleges.
In addition, Prestwich said he expects revenue from the college's 1-mill tax levy to decrease next year, and investment income is down as well.
“That could be another $350,000,” he said. “The total could be $875,000.”
That figure is larger than previously expected, he said. But, he added, “Northwest College is fortunate. We are in a strong financial position now that will better enable us to deal with cuts. But we are facing times that certainly are more difficult than they have been recently.”
Prestwich said the NWC President's Advisory Council has begun discussing how to make the cuts, as have other groups around campus. The NWC Board of Trustees will take up the discussion as well during its regular meeting on Monday in Cody.
“We haven't made any final decisions,” Prestwich said. “We'll be meeting more as this month goes on.
“One of our principles that's going to guide us is, we do not plan to make across-the-board cuts. We plan to be strategic and make the cuts in ways that will allow us to build on strengths” while still cutting back on spending, he said.
“The governor ... has said he expects those (cuts) to be sustainable even into the next biennium. I don't think there's going to be a quick turnaround, either here or in the nation.”
Prestwich said final recommendations on cuts should be made by the end of the month.
“The governor has set May 5, but for us, given our academic cycle, we need to make some decisions, I think, well before that.”
