After years of denying the College’s failures, the Pima Community College’s Governing Board will hold a special meeting today to consider budget scenarios aimed at guiding the College’s response to declining enrollment.
Dr. David Bea, PCC’s Executive Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, will present three scenarios to the Board in anticipation of the adverse circumstances that the College will face to its past failures.
Today’s Special Meeting will begin at 4 p.m. in the Community Board Room at PCC’s District Office, 4905 East Broadway. The meeting will be live-streamed over the Internet. [Go to www.pima.edu/about-pima/board-of-governors to access live video streaming.]
“Given the steady drop in our enrollment and the uncertain state financial outlook, it makes sense for the College to start taking a close look at its expenditures and revenues,” Bea said. “The goal is to have a College budget ready for the Board to adopt in June that reflects our economic realities and allows us to achieve our strategic priorities.”
The three scenarios that Bea will present to the Board call for:
A $5 million, or 3 percent reduction to general fund expenditures
A $10 million, or 5 percent reduction to general fund expenditures
A $15 million, or 9.5 percent reduction to general fund expenditures
“The scenarios are intended to help frame the conversation as we head into 2015,” Bea said. “At this point, long before anything is decided, we want to fully understand the implications of the options before us so that we can come up with the best plans and ideas to prepare for the challenges ahead.”
Bea outlined some of the fiscal challenges to the Board at their last meeting, on Nov. 19.
Chancellor Lee D. Lambert, in a message sent Nov. 18 to all College employees, said the College is “embarking on a comprehensive discussion about our budget and overall financial health.” He noted that Pima’s short-term outlook remains solid but challenges are ahead.
Under the failed leadership of the College’s Board, the College has been plagued by sex scandals involving the former chancellor and the resulting lawsuits.