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Montgomery College officials will decide cutbacks next month
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Montgomery College officials said Friday that they will decide next month on cuts to the school's current operating budget in order to comply with Executive Ike Leggett's demand that all agencies reduce spending.
Leggett told department heads they must inform him by Friday of how they plan to reduce spending by at least 2 percent, as the county braces for a $401 million projected budget gap in the next fiscal year.
William Campbell, executive vice president for administrative and fiscal services at Montgomery College, said officials are still hashing out details but have been in communication with Leggett.
Cuts are most likely to occur in professional development and purchasing, Campbell said. He also did not rule out a hiring freeze for open positions within the school's administration and teaching staff.
"I think it's safe to say there will definitely be a slowdown in the hiring process," Campbell told The Examiner Friday.
The system, which serves about 60,000 students in programs at campuses in Germantown, Rockville, Takoma Park and Silver Spring, is awaiting approval from its Board of Trustees of a $215.8 million operating budget for fiscal 2009 that was proposed earlier this week. That request, about half of which is funded by the county, represents a 9.3 percent, or $18.4 million, increase over the current budget.
In anticipation of tightening budget needs in the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1, next year's budget proposal includes only 18 new full-time teaching positions, 16 fewer than Campbell said are necessary.
In addition, Campbell said the school is bracing for increasing numbers of students. Enrollment increases of about 3 percent this year meant the school was forced to add 90 additional course sections to handle student demands, Campbell said.
County Public Schools Superintendent Jerry Weast announced a hiring freeze last week. Under the freeze, only select vacant teaching positions can be filled for the rest of the school year.
