AC prepares for upcoming budget cut

Even with Amarillo College having record high enrollment numbers for the past two semesters, the budget needs to be reduced.

Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst have called for budget cuts to all state-funded agencies, including community colleges and universities, by 5 percent for the current and future biennium.

Dr. Paul Matney, Amarillo College president, has advised faculty and staff about the proposed budget cuts.

Matney said the budget reduction for the college needs to be around $850,000 for each of the next two years.

In order to maintain that budget, programs across all campuses will see reductions in all aspects of their resources.

One area where the economic pinch will be felt is in college travel expenses.

Several existing travel plans sponsored by the college may face cancellation due to the sudden budget decrease.

While not all pre-approved improvements and plans will be canceled, the budget has the potential to put a strain on many programs at AC that have only recently formed or are in the developmental stages such as the new science laboratory building and other extracurricular activities.

While many students might not feel the cutbacks as readily, those who are employed by the school face the brunt of the budget cuts.

In an effort to curtail costs, various evaluations of technology and equipment on campus have taken place.

A 60-day print management assessment of all networked printers, copiers and fax machines from October to December 2009 was conducted.

The results showed that more than 2 million copies and print jobs had been made in that period, causing paper costs that are targeted as a potential area of reduction.

The college is saving some funds by phasing out paper payroll checks, relying exclusively on direct deposit.

AC also is evaluating programs on campus to see which ones might be eliminated in order to keep within the budget.

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