Montgomery College faces 'devastating' cuts

Montgomery College, the largest community college in Maryland and one of the nation's most esteemed two-year institutions, is reeling at the dire budget plan released yesterday by the county executive.

Isiah Leggett (D) proposed a $4.3 billion spending plan that "cuts the total government budget for the first time in more than 40 years," according to my colleague Michael Laris.

Montgomery College, which relies on the county for nearly half of its budget, faces a 12-percent reduction in county funds, and $14.5 million less than requested.

Interim President Hercules Pinkney said in a statement the cut would "have a devastating impact on the college's ability to meet the record demand by county residents" for the college's services.

"Our students--current and future county taxpayers--are the key to our community's recovery, but already too many of them cannot get into the classes they need at the College because there are not enough professors and not enough classrooms. They are essentially turned away from the county's open access higher education institution," Pinkney said.

State and county cuts would reduce college funding "to levels that have not been seen since FY08--a full three years ago when Montgomery College had 2,300 fewer students taking credit courses," he said.

"With these reductions proposed at the state and county levels, the Montgomery College Board of Trustees must reexamine the institution's FY11 operating budget, which includes a pending tuition increase for students and no pay raises for employees. Among the possible budget reductions that may be considered are eliminating existing positions, implementing furloughs, cutting academic programs, limiting the number of courses offered, reducing institutional grant scholarships for students in need, increasing tuition rates higher than what is pending, reducing the hours of operation for select services, deferring maintenance of the College's physical plant, and curtailing equipment purchases."

The college has already trimmed departmental expenditures, deferred major purchases, cut positions, enacted a soft hiring freeze and suspended cost-of-living raises, he said.

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