![\"Slide1\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/files\/2009\/12\/Slide1.jpg?resize=450%2C337\")
After a year of staff reductions and $8 million in budget cuts, “the broad outlook for CC is stable,” President Richard Celeste told attendees of an Open Budget Forum on Dec. 17. While cautioning that the college’s financial condition is subject to\u00a0economic changes,\u00a0Celeste said he sees no reason for further reductions in staff. “We are better positioned than many institutions,” he said.<\/p>\n
Since last\u00a0fiscal year, when an ad hoc budget planning committee tackled major cuts, the college\u00a0has adopted new budget planning practices. The\u00a0budget-committee approach\u00a0was formalized,\u00a0the budget approval time has moved\u00a0earlier in the year, and\u00a0more time will be devoted to\u00a0budget development.\u00a0The new permanent Budget Committee is\u00a0made up\u00a0of faculty, staff, students, administrators, and a trustee.\u00a0Next\u00a0year’s budget\u00a0will go before the Board of Trustees for approval in February, rather than May. And work on the following fiscal year’s budget\u00a0will begin much earlier than in the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Slide2\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/files\/2009\/12\/Slide2.jpg?resize=450%2C337\")
Indications that the economic picture nationally is stabilizing, plus signs of improvement on campus, led Celeste to express\u00a0cautious optimism. The college’s endowment, which fell from its\u00a0brief\u00a0 high point of $522.7 million to a\u00a0low of $401.7 million during\u00a0the stock market turmoil,\u00a0has since recovered substantially to a level of $446 million. There are signs that the campus community is spending carefully:\u00a0The percentage of operating budget expended as of Nov. 30 is 40.5 percent, compared to 44.5 percent\u00a0at the same time last year, and 44 percent at the same time in 2007.<\/p>\n
“That suggests a recognition that in order to do right, we all have to pay close attention to our expenditures,” Celeste said. “There will continue to be places where we have to make careful choices. We have to continue to operate in a frugal fashion. I am grateful for\u00a0the hard work done by all of you.”<\/p>\n
![\"Slide3\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/files\/2009\/12\/Slide3.jpg?resize=400%2C300\")
Dean of the College\/Dean of the Faculty Susan Ashley, who chairs the Budget Committee,\u00a0explained the background of the budget\u00a0adjustments, starting with the Working Group on Stewardship and Cost Containment, which cut the budget on the administrative side by 5 percent in fall 2008, before the economic slide. Then, in December, when the recession had dramatically cut the value of the endowment, the Board of Trustees determined that the college needed to reduce staff positions and find $8 million in savings.\u00a0Celeste created an ad hoc budget planning committee to recommend ways to balance the budget, and initiated a voluntary staff separation program. The ad hoc committee asked administrative departments\u00a0to identify at least another 5 percent in economies, and academic departments to aim for 10 percent or more in reductions. In February, the trustees directed the college to identify up to $12 million in savings or enhanced revenues, and mandated a full review of programs.<\/p>\n
Reducing positions and cutting\u00a0$8 million in\u00a0expenses resulted in a balanced budget for fiscal years 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011-2012. The admissions office met enrollment targets and yielded a highly qualified first-year class. In May, trustees approved the projected budget and the ad hoc budget planning committee’s recommendations for a new budget process and a set of basic operating principles for budget making.<\/p>\n
The permanent Budget\u00a0Committee’s goals are:<\/p>\n
Ashley said last year’s hard work and tough decisions have paid off. “We choked down the bitter pill, and as a result we have much more flexibility as to how we use our resources,” she\u00a0said.\u00a0She pointed out that other colleges instituted furloughs, did not hire new faculty, and overextended their financial aid resources\u00a0to yield their incoming classes — at a level they\u00a0won’t\u00a0be able to sustain. None of those things happened at CC.<\/p>\n
“We\u00a0 need to\u00a0be grateful for our relatively strong resource base,” she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After a year of staff reductions and $8 million in budget cuts, “the broad outlook for CC is stable,” President Richard Celeste told attendees of an Open Budget Forum on Dec. 17. While cautioning that the college’s financial condition is subject to\u00a0economic changes,\u00a0Celeste said he sees no reason for further reductions in staff. “We are … <\/p>\n