The College of New Caledonia will need to reduce costs by up to $1.85 million to make budget ends meet for 2011-12 according to a projection presented to the school's board of directors on Friday.
CNC president John Bowman predicted about two-thirds of that shortfall can be resolved "relatively painlessly" through reallocations, potential for additional revenue in some areas and reductions to equipment funding.
"However, that's going to leave a shortfall in the order of $600,000 which is still a big number and that's probably going to force us to make some difficult decisions," he said in an interview.
The plan is to offer a number of one-time early retirement incentives and voluntary severance payments available to full-time regular employees, who will not be replaced in the following year by a new regular or full-time employee.
The projection is based in part on assumptions the provincial government's grant will stay put at $28.8 million and CNC will be given the go-ahead to increase tuition fees by two per cent.
The average student paid $2,200 in tuition fees in 2010-11, the second lowest among colleges in B.C., and enrollment at the Prince George campus has held steady at slightly less than 2,400.
"Most students are not going to notice any significant changes next year," Bowman said. "We are looking at a limited number of focused decisions around reducing activity in some areas but it's not a crisis by any means, it's a challenge."
Bowman said his bigger concern is for 2012-13 if the province maintains its pattern of funding and tuition limitation. "We need to be thinking, and we are thinking, about that now as we develop a plan for next year," he said.
As it stands, the operating budget for 2011-12 stands at $45.8 million, the same as this year, but costs increases, driven by ongoing salary and benefits increases, higher utility costs, new and rising software licencing and maintenance fees have put the squeeze on CNC which must pass a balanced budget by April 29.
CNC must also issue layoff notices by no later than March 31 as outlined in the college's collective agreement with the faculty union.
Also, building maintenance funding is expected to remain at $375,000, more than $1 million less than the province provided in 2008-09, the $400,000 aboriginal service plan is being discontinued and a drop in Industry Training Authority Training Plan funding is anticipated.
