State could cut up to 85 percent from MCCCD funding

Joseph Starkloff

Debra Thompson, the Vice Chancellor of Business Services, described the financial state of MCC and Maricopa Community Colleges, as fairly positive during a recent budget meeting in the Navajo room.”We’ve done pretty well all things considered,” she said.

MCC’s ability to dodge a financial crisis is expected to be further tested by the states deficit and anticipated cuts to funding.

“How much will be cut? When will (it) be cut? We don’t know. We do know it will be cut,” Thompson said. “Our lobbyist (has) indicated it could be a minimum of 20 percent maybe 50 percent.”

Thompson was answered when Governor Jan Brewer released her budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year that proposed to slash the $45.3 million allocated to the Maricopa Community Colleges to $6.9 million. This would be an 85 percent cut in funding.

Thompson, who replaced MCC President Shouan Pan as the speaker of the meeting, said funding growth had not matched previous years.

She attributed part of the shortfall to actions made by the MCCCD governing board. The board had voted over the last few years to not raise property taxes, which they can by a max amount of 2 percent every other year, or tuition.

“We have asked our board for the last two years to do that, and they have rejected that. We haven’t seen as much revenue growth as in the past because the board has elected not to exercise their authority to raise taxes,” Thompson said. “Another reason we’ve kind of had diminished resources is because we haven’t had a tuition rate increase in the last two years.”

She correlated a lethargic economy to, not only some of MCC’s financial hardships, but also the basis that the governing board has been reluctant to raise tuition or property taxes.

“A reason, I think, primarily the board didn’t want to raise tuition or the [tax rate] is because they felt the economy was so weak that . it would be too difficult for both our students and property owner to handle,” Thompson said.

She also stressed that unwillingness of the board to raise either two could lead to or amplify a lack of funding.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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