Lane Community College could cut 20 positions amid looming $4M deficit

“Dive Brief: Lane Community College, in Oregon, is considering eliminating roughly 20 jobs and cutting two programs as it tries to save $4.2 million in its fiscal 2027 budget, leaders told the college’s governing board last week. Over half of the budget cuts would come out of Lane’s operations, including through eliminating vacant staff positions, consolidating management and restructuring operations, according to the leaders’ board presentation. The proposed cuts are part of a three-year campaign that the community college’s governing board approved in January to reduce a structural budget deficit . The board is to vote on the 2027 budget proposals in the coming months. Dive Insight: Without any changes, Lane’s general budget would rack up an estimated $4 million deficit next fiscal year, Kara Flath, the college's vice president of finance and operations, told the board last week. Lane President Stephanie Bulger said at the meeting Wednesday characterized the strategies being considered as “incredibly, incredibly difficult for us.” Lane is trying to shrink its budget while leaving student-facing services as unaffected as possible. However, about $1 million of the reductions would come out of support services, specifically from Lane’s dental and health clinics, as well as its library and tutoring services. At the same time, the college would suspend its programs in health information management and criminal justice. The college’s accreditor has approved a closure plan, including teach-out options, for the criminal justice program effective spring 2027, said Shelley Tinkham, vice president of academic affairs, at the meeting. She said she hoped to have a closure plan for the health information management approved within the week. In response to trustee concerns about the impact on the local police force from eliminating the criminal justice program, Tinkham said Lane would continue offering courses in criminal justice and other programs aligned with a career in law enforcement. In addition, the college would help students transition to four-year programs in the field, she said. Lane is also trimming some of its other course offerings, specifically in dance. Tinkham said enrollment has flagged in recent years, leaving some sections at less than capacity. “We will just be matching the enrollment with available demand,” she said. Together, the academic reductions would shave another nearly $1 million from the budget and eliminate the equivalent of one job while repurposing a few others, according to the presentation. The cuts to operations, meanwhile, would eliminate 17 full-time jobs and cut $2.2 million. “ Lane is not alone," college leaders wrote in their board presentation. "Community colleges statewide are navigating enrollment shifts, funding volatility, and rising costs .” Between 2019 and 2024, Lane’s fall enrollment fell just over 23% to 6,810 students, per federal data. But the institution has seen some improvement, with an increase of about 300 students from 2023 to 2024. Several other public colleges in Oregon are indeed facing budget woes as well. Portland Community College's unionized faculty and staff went on strike this month for the first time ever amid budget pressures and fraught negotiations with college leaders. Meanwhile, Portland State University could eliminate three academic departments and trim many others to avert what its president called a potential “financial crisis.” And Southern Oregon University is facing a potential cash crunch that prompted state lawmakers to approve a $15 million lifeline . And Oregon State University recently approved across-the-board tuition hikes to avert a $14 million budget gap amid rising costs and lagging state funding.

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