Dear CSN Family,
This afternoon, the Nevada State Senate joined the State Assembly and passed AB3, which cuts an additional $25 million from the Nevada System of Higher Education’s fiscal year 2021 budget. These cuts are on top of cuts already approved, but are half the amount of the cuts originally proposed.
I want to acknowledge the hard work behind the scenes from our finance and government affairs divisions, the numerous written communications to our lawmakers from the higher education community across Southern Nevada, and testimony before the Legislature from CSN Faculty Senate President Maria Schellhase and ASCSN President Karli McFarling-Kelly. Many people stood up for CSN’s students as potentially devastating cuts loomed.
Of the $25 million in additional cuts that were passed, $15 million will be taken from the operating pool, and the remaining $10 million will be split between the NSHE institutions. At CSN, this translates into an additional $1.6 million in cuts. As you will recall, we have already taken cuts of $17.5 million for fiscal year 2021, on top of the faculty and staff furloughs that we will all have to take. We plan to discuss the budget in more detail at our next Town Hall meeting at 1 p.m. this Friday, July 24.
As I noted in my communication to you last week, our budget reduction plan to deal with these additional cuts includes but is not limited to:
- Freezing approximately 50 positions indefinitely;
- Reducing operational costs by approximately 50 percent for travel, hosting, printing, supplies, and FFE;
- Limiting personnel in facilities, administrative, academic, and student service areas;
- Limiting the number of sections and classes that are funded to meet student demand;
- Reducing service and possibly closing CSN Hi-Tech and Community Centers, such as those at Nellis Air Force Base, Summerlin, Green Valley and Mesquite;
- And limiting the number of accelerated short-term workforce training programs in Health Professions, Information Technology, Logistics and Manufacturing, and Skill Trades (automotive, diesel tech, dental hygiene and dental assisting, veterinary nursing) being designed for long-term unemployed and displaced workers.
As most of you know, CSN is no stranger to adversity and I am confident that together we will overcome these financial difficulties and continue to be the pathway to higher education and a beacon of hope for current and future generations of CSN students.
Stay safe and God bless.
Federico Zaragoza
President
College of Southern Nevada