Cuts threaten Minden campus

When asked if the Minden campus of Western Nevada College would survive Gov. Jim Gibbons' proposed nearly 40-percent budget cut to higher education, Western Nevada College President Carol Lucey said that it was not whether the rural campus would survive, but whether the entire college system would survive.

"As we go forward with this unfathomable cut, we don't know what it would do to us," Lucey said in a telephone interview on Monday. "We are very sensitive to distributing the cuts fairly to minimize impacts on one population. But, theoretically, if these cuts were to go through, it would shut down higher education in the state. At 40 percent, no job would be secure. At 40 percent, I don't know how students would get a college education."

Gibbons' proposed budget for the biennium, which tries to account for a $2.3 billion shortfall in the state general fund, will be vetted by legislators during the budget process. The Nevada Legislature began its session on Monday.

"We're hoping that legislators realize that the college can't take this," Lucey said. "We're hoping these cuts will be moderated and we'll come through this and continue to provide services to all students, including those in Douglas County."

Lucey said no sites have been closed, although the learning center in Yerington had to be moved into the local high school. She said budget reductions last year caused the cutting of coordinators and other professional positions, including former coordinator of academic and student affairs at the Douglas campus, Dick Kale.

"We tried to do it in such a way that students could still get some classes," Lucey said.

However, she said the dismal economy has actually motivated more people to seek out higher education. She said college-wide, the number of full-time equivalents, or the equivalent of those taking 15 credits or more, is up about 8 percent from a year ago, and up about 10 percent at the Douglas campus.

"With the economy so dreadful, people need to go back to college to improve their skills and careers," she said. "We recognize how important it is to continue to operate those services everywhere."

Lucey said she's been president of the college for 10 years and has "never seen anything like this anywhere."

"I've never seen a state so at risk of losing higher education," she said.

n Scott Neuffer can be reached at sneuffer@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 217.