Budget deficit forces Northern Maine Community College to pursue difficult reductions

    PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Increased operational costs, flat state appropriations, and anticipated flat or slightly decreased enrollment for the fall are forcing NMCC to make significant cuts in spending, including cuts in personnel. A $470,000 budget deficit is projected for 2015, and college leadership and a budget task force have been working to find ways to bridge the gap.
“We have faced budget challenges before where it’s been necessary to hold the line on spending during the second half of the fiscal year,” said President Timothy Crowley. “But in the upcoming budget cycle, we can clearly project that revenues will not be able to keep pace with increased costs. In order for the college to maintain and improve the quality of programs and services, we had to take a hard look at the entire budget and identify areas that can be cut. Unfortunately, because payroll represents more than 70 percent of our costs, the only way to make truly significant savings was to consider personnel reductions.”
Four faculty positions will be lost to the budget crunch — one in arts and sciences, two in business technology and one nursing position impacting the Houlton Higher Education Center. The college is investigating all options, including discussions with the business community, to assist the seven nursing students currently being served in Houlton as they complete their program of study at NMCC.
At the same time, already vacant positions (math instructor, business office, IT and student affairs positions) will not be filled. In addition, the college will be making cuts in contracted services including closing the NMCC office at Madawaska High School, although courses will continue to be offered there. Cuts are also being made to the facilities maintenance and athletics budgets. The budget task force agreed that certain criteria must be considered before each cutback was determined — the upholding of the mission of NMCC, the ability to fulfill the educational needs of students and the community, maintaining the quality of the programs, safety and accreditation.
“The idea of losing faculty members who have contributed so much to our programs over the years is tough to accept and these decisions were very difficult to make,” said Crowley. “The budget obstacles have been mounting for years especially since state funding has dropped from 48 percent of our total revenue in 2008 to supplying only 32 percent currently. State appropriations have simply not kept up with the cost of providing our educational services.
“We are continually working to discover ways to increase revenues, while keeping costs for students the lowest in Maine,” he said. “We are determined not to allow these cuts to negatively impact the quality of our services or to diminish the opportunity to grow our most in-demand programs.”