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In their annual hearing Thursday (Sept. 21) before the Legislative Budget Committee, leaders of the 15 Mississippi community colleges highlighted the consequences of last year’s budget cuts in the face of the colleges’ critical role in providing the trained workforce needed to bolster the state’s economy.
The 15 colleges collectively increased tuition an average of $356 or 13 percent to make up part of the difference but still had to lay off 65 employees, not fill 122 positions and eliminate three others. They also closed 15 career-tech programs at eight colleges and 11 athletic programs at five colleges.
“Last year was very difficult for Mississippi community colleges and Mississippi, in general, in terms of revenue shortfalls and budget cuts. The community colleges, as a result, made many hard decisions because they had to,” said Dr. Andrea Mayfield, executive director of the Mississippi Community College Board.
The decisions made, however, conflict with the colleges’ mission to provide education and training at affordable prices so the state and individual taxpayers can prosper.
“We want to do everything we can in our power as a community college system to help our state increase tax revenues that are collected. We want to be able to produce the trained workforce that is needed throughout the state to be sure that our businesses and industries are productive and that our citizens are independent and are able to enjoy a quality of life. These are all things that we hold near and dear,” she said.
With those thoughts in mind, college leaders presented three main funding priorities: fair and equitable funding, workforce and economic development, and capital improvements.
Hinds Community College President Dr. Clyde Muse, chair of the legislative committee of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges, said the colleges aren’t asking for extras but necessities.
“What we are presenting are actual needs that the community college system has,” he emphasized.
The colleges are seeking, first, “fair and equitable funding” of $62 million, which includes $37 million for restoration of funding because of budget cuts and $25 million for salary increases.
“We need to restore our fund balances, which we were required to tap into so we could continue to operate and provide quality services to our people of our communities,” Mayfield said. “We also need restoration of funds for new programs and new positions, new faculty, to teach this specialized training and programs for which the community colleges are now in the process of implementing.”
Secondly, the colleges are requesting nearly $16 million for two workforce and development strands, $5.25 million for career-technical programs and $10.68 million for MIBEST Career Pathways. MIBEST is aimed at adults without high school diplomas who need to earn a high school credential and receive career training at the same time.
The third priority is a two-year bond bill for $150 million that includes capital improvements over two years and one year of technology upgrades.
However, Rep. Greg Snowden of Meridian told community college representatives that while the needs are deep, state dollars are scarce.
“I agree with you that community colleges are one of the best things we have going on in the state. I don’t think there is any question about that. It’s clichéd to say we get more bang for our buck (from community colleges) than with anything else. We all know that,” he said.
“Just as cautionary note, we’re not going to have that much money, and we’re going to have to look hard to find it. We’re going to need your help identifying the things that were most critical. I understand that every one of these needs are important. We’ve got to pick and choose somewhere,” he said.
The community colleges serve 62.5 percent of all college freshmen at public post-secondary institutions in Mississippi, and 96 percent of all the students are Mississippi residents. The colleges have enrolled nearly 73,000 students in fall 2017, plus another 90,000 workforce trainees, 14,000 adult education students and 1,277 MI-BEST students through summer 2017. Coupled with those statistics, however: the colleges receive only eight cents on the education dollar compared to 19 cents for universities and 73 cents for K-12 schools.
Among other national quality indicators, Mississippi community colleges exceeded the national average for college completion of first-time, full-time students, continuing to increase the number of graduates as well as the number of credentials they earned over the past two years. For instance, in 2017, the colleges collectively graduated 16,418 students with 19,358 credentials, compared to 15,726 graduates and 18,117 credentials two years ago.
“We’re proud that our system continues to be recognized as one of the best community college systems in the nation and our colleges are recognized for low cost, quality program offerings and student success,” said Dr. Ronnie Nettles, president of Copiah-Lincoln Community College and the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges.
The Mississippi Association for Community and Junior Colleges funding requests are endorsed by the Mississippi Community College Board, as well as the statewide trustee, alumni and faculty organizations that represent the 15 public two-year colleges.
