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Tuesday, January 15, 2008

College of Santa Fe Trying To Solve Financial Woes


Associated Press
      SANTA FE — The College of Santa Fe board plans to discuss a move that would allow more faculty to be fired in an effort to cut costs at the school, which has been struggling with budget deficits for several years.
    The board is to meet Jan. 25 to consider filing for financial exigency — the equivalent of bankruptcy, college President Stuart Kirk said. Exigency would allow administrators to take whatever steps are necessary to fix the school's financial woes.
    College administrators have been restructuring curriculum and trimming spending.
    The school already offered severance packages to 13 faculty members, and said all but two have accepted the offer. Those two qualify for retirement and are considering their options, said Marcia Sullivan, vice president of administration and communication.
    The cuts, intended to trim departments with low enrollment or with low student-teacher ratios, represent nearly 20 percent of the school's full-time faculty.
    Sullivan said further cuts probably will be the result of small changes to curriculum, and there probably would not be another major staff cut.

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