Budget cuts threaten GSC Oconee

Atlanta- Gainesville State College Oconee and the other 34 schools in the University System of Georgia should anticipate more cuts in the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

Since the budget cuts were first proposed, they have met much opisition. On March 15, students gathered at the State Capitol to protest the proposed tuition increase and budget cuts to legislature.

For students and faculty these cuts could mean more furloughs, the closing of facilities and more importantly, tuition increases.  It was thought that tuition would go up as much as 77%, but these rumors were quickly debunked.

“I cannot fathom that will be the case,” said Marya Leatherwood, vice president for Academic Affairs for GSC.

Students and faculty were first made aware of these measures Feb. 26 when GSC administrators called emergency meetings.  The student meeting happened at 10:30 a.m. while the faculty meeting followed at 12:30 p.m.  The meetings were held via video chat between the Oconee and Oakwood campuses of GSC.

All USG institutions were anticipating a combined $344 million budget cut.  Gainesville State was expected to cut $3.37 million from the two schools combined.  There were some worries that GSC may face higher percentage cuts than bigger schools such as UGA, Georgia Tech and Georgia State.

“The cuts will be even across the board,” said Aaron Paul, SGA president for GSCO.  This means that if UGA has a tuition hike, GSC students will face the same percentage hike.

Combined with the budget cuts made last year, the USG was looking at over half a billion dollars in budget cuts.  A plan sponsored by governor Perdue calls for only $113 million in cuts to USG schools, approximately a 63 percent decrease than what was originally called for by the General Assembly.

GSC submitted a plan the next day to the Board of Regents on what would need to be done to accommodate the cuts.  Ideas included shutting down the swimming pool on the Oakwood campus, stopping administration of the Regent’s test on both campuses, and not replacing teachers that are retiring.  The plan GSC sent did not call for salary reductions or layoffs.

“The last thing we want to do is lay anybody off,” Paul Glaser, vice president for Financial Affairs for GSC said.

The emergency meeting for the teachers raised concerns about teacher morale being low, and the fact that professors at GSC are amongst the lowest paid of the Georgia state colleges.

While many are opposed to raising the tuition, there are some under the gold dome who feel as though a tuition increase is required.  According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, State Senator Don Belfour (R-Snellville), was quoted as saying the tuition in Georgia is “embarrassingly cheap,” and “I don’t want a commitment from you [that] you’re not going to raise tuition, I’d rather have a commitment from you that you are.” The Voice tried to reach Senator Belfour via e-mail multiple times, but got no response.

On March 4, Gov. Sonny Perdue held a press conference blasting the state legislature for suggesting draconian cuts to education.  “It’s (the budget cuts) not going to happen on my watch,” said Perdue.
“I’m caught in a vicious political battle between students, the Board of Regents and the legislature,” said Paul. “This shouldn’t be a political issue at all.”

On March 15, students from across the state met in downtown Atlanta to demonstrate against the budget cuts.  Protestors suggested solutions to the cuts of education including a $1 tobacco tax to be used for education, but a spokesperson for Burt Brantley, director of communications for Perdue hinted at this solution not being possible by stating that any tobacco tax would be used to help healthcare.

Prior to the march, SGA presidents across the state, including Paul, held a press conference at Hurt Park to release their statement on the budget cuts.

“Now is not the time to point fingers at any one person or body,” Paul said.”We must all come together as one to help make these difficult times easier for all of us.”

The SGA presidents would then go inside the capitol to discuss the issue with state leaders.  The General Assembly is expected to have a final vote on the budget cuts in April.  While the crisis is not as bad as once conceived, the SGA hopes students will continue to show their concern for the issue.

“We all need to work together,” said Kyle Odom, vice president of SGA for GSCO.