Chattanooga State is under a hiring freeze and is holding off on building renovations as a result of the most recent cut to its budget, President Jim Catanzaro said.
“(These cuts) take away some of the flexibility of the institution and the opportunity for the college both to continue some of its quality initiatives as well as new initiatives,” he said. “These resources are extremely important.”
Unlike some state schools, the two-year community college does not have plans to cut programs or lay off faculty, Dr. Catanzaro said. Also, the budget constraints will not affect the school’s commitment to train employees for Volkswagen and its suppliers, he said.
“(Volkswagen) is an extremely high priority for us,” he said. “We have made that commitment.”
Earlier this year, Gov. Phil Bredesen announced a $56 million slash to statewide higher education. In that cut, Chattanooga State Technical Community College lost $633,000 in state appropriations. This month, state colleges and universities were asked to trim more money from their budgets because business tax revenue was far below what the state projected.
BY THE NUMBERS
* $633,000 — Amount of state appropriations Chattanooga State lost earlier this year
* $24.5 million — Amount originally appropriated by the state after the first round of cuts
* $844,400 — Amount cut from Chattanooga State’s budget this month
* $600,000 — Amount of revenue earned from increased enrollment
The Tennessee Board of Regents, which oversees the two-year state colleges, including Chattanooga State, was forced to cut $25 million from its spending.
Chattanooga State cut $844,400 from the $24.5 million originally appropriated by the state, said Mary Morgan, a spokeswoman for the Board of Regents.
A 6 percent increase in enrollment has added about $600,000 to Chattanooga State’s budget, Dr. Catanzaro said, but adjustments must be made.
Five full-time positions at Chattanooga State will be left unfilled this year, he said. The positions include an associate vice president of continued education, a special assistant to the president and an instructor in the paralegal program, he said.
Money intended to improve buildings on campus will be cut, said Tammy Swenson, executive vice president for business and finance at Chattanooga State. Renovations planned for the Child Development Center and the second floor of the Augusta R. Kolwyck Library are on hold, she said.
Dr. Catanzaro also said the administration must decrease travel costs. Faculty and staff likely will not be able to attend academic conferences or training sessions, he said.
Last week, Gov. Bredesen said colleges should look at cutting academic programs before raising tuition, and Dr. Catanzaro said Chattanooga State officials always are measuring program enrollment and tweaking allocations within the college.
In 2007, Chattanooga State either cut or restructured five areas of study, and in 2008 the school added six new academic tracks, two concentrations, two technical certificates and three degree programs, said Fannie Hewlett, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Chattanooga State.
Most of shifts have occurred without adding or removing faculty, Dr. Catanzaro said.
“We look at our programs’ both academic and student service, and we make adjustments continuously,” he said. “We would look at this matter differently if we didn’t have such diligent continuous effort to assess program effectiveness.”
Joan Garrett has been a staff writer for the Times Free Press since August 2007. Before becoming a general assignment writer for the paper, she wrote about business, higher education and the court systems. She grew up the oldest of five sisters near Birmingham, Ala., and graduated with a master's and bachelor's degrees in journalism from the University of Alabama. Before landing her first full-time job as a reporter at the Times Free Press, she ...
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