School updates: Supe search & what's up at Skagit….

School District: The search for a superintendent continues… school board chair Boyd Pratt told me last night that the board voted to shelve the search for a permanent person and look instead for an interim superintendent for this next year, saying the present search didn’t yield a wide enough field of candidates.

Skagit Valley College – San Juan Center: In a press release from Mount Vernon, Arden Ainley says the San Juan campus will have reduced hours and an increased online emphasis. Here’s more:

Skagit Valley College Reacts to Legislative Budget Proposals

Skagit Valley College President Dr. Gary Tollefson reacted to legislative budget proposals today, indicating, “Although the college does not yet know how the proposed budget cuts to the Community and Technical College system will play out here at Skagit, it appears we will sustain substantial budget reductions when the Legislature reconciles differences between the House and Senate proposals.”

In anticipation of a significant reduction in funding from the state during the next biennium, Skagit Valley College has implemented a package of budget reductions totaling $2 million for the 2009-10 budget year.  “The planned cuts will be painful and will reduce or re-configure some services and class offerings, but we have worked hard to keep the negative impact on students to a minimum,” said Dr. Tollefson.  “In this economic downturn and with surging demand increasing our spring enrollments by over 15%, that means serving many more students than ever and providing them the training they need to return to work, or the best, most cost-effective preparation for transfer to a four-year college or university.”

The notices of non-renewal, layoff, or reduction of hours were given to employees over the past two weeks in individual meetings with the President.  Reductions have impacted twenty-six positions at the college, seven of which were already vacant.  In addition to personnel actions, the reductions included cuts in equipment purchases, re-configurations of program delivery, travel restrictions, ending some contracts with local agencies, and numerous other belt-tightening measures.  Total reductions taken to date total about
$2 million.

As part of the college’s restructuring, additional emphasis will be placed on distance learning online programs, allowing access to courses and programs by students who need to study any time and from any location.  This model will be combined with traditional classroom and hybrid classroom-online course models to provide additional ways for students in Skagit’s service area to access education and critical services.

In Mount Vernon, the Business Resource Center will continue to provide business start-up and business development services from the current location.  The San Juan Center in Friday Harbor and the South Whidbey Center in Clinton will continue their operations with reduced hours of operation and an increased online course emphasis.

In a message to all college employees, Dr. Tollefson noted the uncertainty surrounding the state budget by saying ” . . . national and state economic indicators point to a continued slowdown of business activity and potential additional tax revenue shortfalls which may require additional budget reductions, depending on the final actions of the Legislature.”

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