In the regular meeting on June 17, 2020, the CWC Board of Trustees faced challenging issues regarding future decisions for the college.
President Brad Tyndall informed the Board that the State of Wyoming has said that for the Community Colleges, budget reductions are imminent.
“We are being asked from the State to prepare a budget for reductions of 10% and 20% cuts and Vice President Willie Noseep has reminded us that 78% of our budget is in personnel,” said President Tyndall. “We cannot accomplish this magnitude of a reduction without a reduction in force. We are exploring all cost-saving measures and revenue opportunities we can.”
On President Tyndall’s recommendation, Trustee Craig Tholman moved to authorize the President to initiate a Reduction in Force (as required by Board Policy IIC Treatment of Staff section 5e) if and as required in response to potential mandated state funding reductions in order to recommend for the final fiscal year 2021 budget approval that meets board requirements as noted in Policy IIF Fiscal Planning and Budgeting.
The motion was unanimously approved.
Vice President Kathy Wells also presented a comprehensive plan, “Building A Stronger, Safer CWC” detailing CWC’s transition plan for the college as the campus prepares to move through phases of their virtual campus back to campus physical facilities. The employee portion of the plan is posted on the CWC webpage https://www.cwc.edu/coronavirus/ where subsequent modules will also be posted.
“Our plan has, at its focus, student and employee health and safety, as that is essential to student learning,” said Dr. Wells. “It is comprehensive, covering areas of academics, administrative services, employee and student health, food services, IT, employees returning to work, and student services,” said Wells. “The plan is designed to be flexible, knowing it will need revisions in response to county virus activity. We are prepared to deliver courses knowing there may be short term closures (in the event of an outbreak), and if a rolling closure occurs, we will transition to remote instruction if needed,” said Wells. “We also must consider students who may be under stay at home orders.”
As each module of the plan is released in the upcoming weeks, a focus on communication with students, employees, and community members will be key.
