LCC Faculty Colleagues –
I’m writing with an update from last night’s Board of Education meeting.
The Board voted to approve “the FY2027 Mitigation Plan Summary and support the President proceeding with necessary implementation actions, returning to update the Board in April with additional information and plan progress.” The Administration’s $4.4 Million in cuts presented in the “Mitigation Plan” make no mention of which programs, services, and operational functions the Administration intends to reduce or eliminate. The plan does list a total reduction of 22.5 FTE (i.e. full-time jobs) with 14.5 classified positions (two of which are vacant), 11.5 faculty positions (one of which is vacant and 5.5 of which will potentially be “repurposed”), and 3 management positions. (Administrators explained that their use of the term, “repurposed,” in the plan means layoffs and reassignment.) The plan lists only high level categories – $2M of the proposed cuts from college operations, $1.4M from support services, and $983K from academic programs. Furthermore, it includes no reference to the $1.5+ Million dollars in new expenditures/ investments the Administration proposed in January and included in their mitigation plan at that time for a Board vote, which the Board did pass – these are budget additions that create the need for unknown budget reductions.
No other details are available beyond the publicly posted documents about what the Administration plans to reduce or eliminate.
In approving the motion, the Board effectively blindly rubber-stamped unknown, unspecified cuts. As we know, this is inconsistent with their own policies on program and service cuts as well as documented, longstanding precedent, not to mention their duty to the public and voters who elected them.
In addition, the Board approved the motion with the “Mitigation Plan,” which includes a full $1 Million in “potential” state funding cuts despite knowing that cuts to community college funding will not take place. As the 2026 Oregon legislative session comes to a close, thanks to OEA and many partner organizations, the Community College Support Fund, which provides the state funding to all community colleges, will remain intact. See, for instance, Administrator Brett Rowlett’s email documenting this news.
Three Board members – Chair Austin Folnagy, Vice Chair Rust, and Zach Mulholland – expressed concerns about the lack of transparency and opportunity for community input and voted against the plan. The remaining four Board members voted to support the motion without any public discussion or information about what will be cut or for what reason, and without any consideration of the impacts of the specific cuts.
You may wish to contact the Board members to share appreciation with Folnagy, Rust, and Mulholland, who remained true to their obligation as elected officials in our democracy by insisting on transparency and decision making in public meetings.
As for the rest of the Board members, it is difficult to imagine how they will explain a vote for unknown cuts to the people of Lane County.
More information will be provided once available as well as next steps for advocacy.
In solidarity,
Adrienne
Lane Community College Education Association 