DALTON — More than 200 Dalton State College students gathered Thursday afternoon for a town hall style meeting to question college leaders regarding state funding cuts they were told could result in the elimination of entire degree programs.
Fielding questions from students, college president John O. Schwenn said it appears unlikely that the social work, management and technology and office management programs will be entirely dissolved as originally discussed. That’s because Gov. Sonny Perdue has promised not to allow a full $300 million in cuts as a committee of lawmakers suggested earlier this month might be needed to help deal with a $1 billion budget shortfall.
“We also know there would probably be some sort of tuition increase,” Schwenn said. “We don’t know how much.”
Still, it’s all but certain the $15.4 million in state funding the college was budgeted to receive in the fiscal year that began in July 2009 will fall significantly. The latest proposal was a $2.4 million cut on top of a $1.8 million cut officials already knew was coming. Lawmakers will be working over the next few weeks to finalize the budget for higher education.
The student-sponsored town hall meeting was the first of its kind, said student body president Daniel Sanchez. All three college vice presidents attended as well as Schwenn, Dalton State College Foundation president David Elrod and several other staff members.
The town hall meeting precedes a planned rally at the state Capitol in Atlanta on Monday to protest state lawmakers’ proposal to cut higher education funding for next year in addition to $200 million of cuts the 35 University System of Georgia colleges and universities have already absorbed.
Dalton State student body president-elect Patton Hunt, a junior history major, said he plans to join about 5,000 students from across the state at the Monday rally in Atlanta.
“I love the fact that students are actually concerned about this,” Hunt said. “I worry sometimes that there’s a lot of apathy in our generation.”
Christa Talley-Grant, a sophomore early childhood education major, also plans to attend the rally. This marks the first time she’s become involved in the political process.
Talley-Grant was laid off from her job at Shaw in March 2009 and is retraining for a new career. While there’s been no talk of cutting the education degree program, the Dalton resident said deep budget cuts affect everyone.
“If they continue to cut, it’ll eventually cut into everybody’s financial aid,” she said.
Adam Ridley, a junior respiratory therapy student, was concerned his degree program might go away when talk of budget cuts surfaced. There are fewer than 10 people enrolled in the program, he said. Ridley questioned college officials extensively on building the iconic $700,000 bell tower, a recently completed project funded through private donations solicited through the DSC Foundation.
Schwenn said the college couldn’t legally divert bell tower money collected through a fundraising campaign to other educational endeavors. Another student questioned why, since raising money for the bell tower was so successful, people wouldn’t be equally eager to pay for items that actually contribute to education. Elrod, the Foundation president, said donors typically are not as eager to give money for funding day to day expenses, and the amount of money they’re able to give each year fluctuates.
Ridley said there’s been talk and worry around campus since news of the possible budget cuts surfaced in late February. He said he felt more informed after the town hall meeting.
“It allowed people to vent those worries in a constructive manner,” he said.
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Get the facts
• It’s unlikely any degree programs at DSC will be eliminated in the coming year.
• Tuition will probably go up, but not by 77 percent, the amount needed to cover the entirety of a proposed $300 million in state funding cuts.
• Enrollment will probably be capped at 5,800 students. Currently enrolled students will not have trouble getting registered for fall classes unless they wait until the last minute. Some new students could be turned away.
• State lawmakers do not determine funding allotments to individual colleges. Higher education funding comes to the Board of Regents, which uses a formula to distribute funding among its institutions.
Source: Dalton State College president John O. Schwenn
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