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Germanna copes with budget shortfall
March marks Dr. David Sam's third year as president of Germanna Community College and he remains optimistic for the future. "We are the fastest growing community college in the state and ninth in the country," said Sam during a recent interview. "Enrollment has increased by 83 percent over the past decade." Dr. Sam sees the irony in their current budget situation which leaves them to face a $1 million shortfall.
"We're less able to help when the community needs us the most," said Sam who noted that as people are laid off from their current jobs, many are looking to "re-tool" in new areas. Germanna Community College takes up just a small part of the nearly 100 acres that the school owns.
Pointing to a map in the school's conference room, Dr. Sam looks to the future expansion of the school which currently serves over 13,000 students in the City of Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, Culpeper, King George, Madison, Orange, Spotsylvania and Stafford. Dr. Sam, who moved to the Culpeper area from Florida, spends his days commuting between the three campuses located at Locust Grove, Fredericksburg and the the Daniel Technology Center.
With Terramark as a close neighbor, Dr. Sam envisions that, together with the college, the area will become a growing technology center for the county. Already facing a shortfall projected by last year's budget, Dr. Sam was preparing for further cuts. But things can change quickly and with the passage of the General Assembly's budget on Saturday, the injection of federal stimulus money to the state general fund means that the legislature will not have to make deeper cuts in the budget of the Virginia Community College system.
That is good news for Germanna, as well as other community colleges throughout the state. Now, they will not have to face an additional five percent in cuts that had been recommended by Governor Kaine late last year. The reductions will be smaller. Deeper cuts could have meant eliminating or suspending plans for programs, and, possibly, layoffs. For now, such extreme action will be unnecessary.
"The budget outcome for next year is much better than anticipated," Dr. Sam said. "The local, state and national leaders who helped to make this come about deserve and have my deep gratitude." "However, it is based on current state tax revenues not falling further," he added. "If the economy continues to deteriorate, we will likely face further cuts from the governor in the fall. Therefore, we will build our budget conservatively. I hope I am wrong, and if I am we will use the revenues saved for new programs and improved services."
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