Despite deficit, NWCC doesn't see layoffs or program cuts on the horizon..

With the Provincial Government throwing a surprise funding cutback at the provinces colleges, there has been some scrambling going on as the provinces colleges find ways to cut corners and free up money.

Some like Prince George's College of New Caledonia have had to resort to layoffs and program cancellations to balance their books, while others have been working on some internal number crunching to bring the books into line with the new reality from Victoria.

Locally, Northwest Community College like the others is facing a reduction in finances, with a 1.5 million dollar deficit expected after the latest moves from the provincial government. However, unlike Prince George and other locales, NWCC feels that they can handle their shortfall through funds from previous years and grants coming through the process.

CFTK News out of Terrace provided some details on the issue posted Thursday to their website.

College Faces Deficit
Thu, 2008-04-03 18:05.

Local News

Northwest Community College is facing a $1.5 million deficit, after a surprise funding cut by the provincial government.

But President Stephanie Forsyth says she doesn't expect program cuts or layoffs.

"We do have some funds remaining previous years when programs haven't run or grants came in that have offset our costs," said Forsyth. "So we may be able to cover our deficit for one year and that's what we're anticipating."

Forsyth says Northwest Community College has delayed its budget process this year to assess and find solutions to the funding shortfall.

Universities and colleges across the province are affected by the same funding changes and some have announced program and staff cuts.

Forsyth says the province has cut basic college budgets by 2.6 percent, although it did provide some extra money to cover negotiated wage increases and has allocated specific funding for programs such as trades training.