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MCC Daily Tribune

Town Hall Staffing Discussion Follow-up

As a follow-up to our Town Hall last week, I am sharing an overview of our discussion regarding staffing. As you will likely have seen in the media over the last couple of days, representatives from the Administration and the Faculty Resource Committee (FRC) continue to be engaged in discussion regarding strategies to reduce our reliance on our fund balance, including potential involuntary separations of teaching faculty.

As was discussed, the need to look at right-sizing our staffing is not new. Our Phase One efforts, the organizational restructuring and consolidation of Academic and Student Affairs, and our Phase Two, a voluntary retirement incentive last summer, ​could not have been accomplished without the Faculty Senate and Faculty Association's (FA) union as willing partners. They have my gratitude. As we look at Phase 3, they remain engaged as we examine together a path forward, including the potential involuntary separation of some teaching faculty positions.

All options presented by the FRC are still on the table for the Administration's consideration.

The need for a long-term financially sustainable strategy and the methods by which we achieve this are necessary as our current funding model is insufficient to maintain solvency.

Financial Outlook. As the presentations from both MCC Board of Trustee Chair Allen Williams and Finance Committee Chair Dale Rehkopf illustrated, while comparing today versus 2019/2020, tuition revenue has declined by 23%​ , and New York State sponsorship has dropped by 8%​. It is important to note that MCC has been very active in advocating to  New York State government to improve the financial position of SUNY's community colleges. Our advocacy has been in partnership with the New York Community College Association of Presidents (NYCCAP), the New York Community College Trustees Association (NYCCT), and the Rochester Delegation to the New York State Legislature. My thanks go out to Monroe County Executive Adam Bello for reversing a decade of Monroe County underinvestment in MCC by his decision, along with the Monroe County Legislature, to increase the County's investment in MCC these past three years of my tenure.

While MCC's revenue has declined over the past decade, the cost of educating a full-time equivalent (FTE) student has increased by 45%. ​ Considering these trends, MCC had an unsustainable financial model five years ago, which has become even less sustainable due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated enrollment declines.

Fund Balance. Another topic discussed was the College's Fund Balance. Before COVID, our fund balance decreased year over year. The fund balance also decreased as a percentage (%) of total operating expenses. Think of this as a dwindling savings account or line of credit being used to cover everyday expenses. ​ The Federal government stepped in during COVID to rescue higher education institutions from loss of revenue by allocating one-time funding called Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds or HEERF; these funds increased the MCC fund balance. It is important to note that the Federal government stopped giving HEERF funds to colleges one year ago, in June 2023. ​It was "one-time funding" to address a crisis. This only bought us "time" to fix a problem that pre-existed before the pandemic. So, while it is natural to think, with such a large fund balance, do we really still have a problem? ​The answer is, "Yes, we still have a problem." To cite just two of the many reasons: at best, using fund balance to pay our daily bills would be a temporary solution. Similar to a savings account or a line of credit, this strategy does not address the underlying imbalance between revenue and expenses​. If we do nothing, we anticipate that our annual use of fund balance will exponentially increase from $3.2M in Fiscal Year 2025 to $11.2M in Fiscal Year 2029. ​

In addition, if we assume that the NYS funding floor remains in place over the next 5-6 years, which is extremely unlikely, while MCC takes no mitigation action to reduce its expenses, the fund balance would likely be exhausted in just six years by FY2030. This would have a devasting impact on student success and our community at large.

These are challenging times for MCC and nearly all of SUNY's community colleges. Left unresolved, the trajectory of our fiscal reality would have a devastating impact on our students, the institution we love, and our community at large. For these reasons, the Administration remains committed to exploring ideas as well as viable and sustainable solutions that could reduce the need for involuntary reductions of teaching faculty.

MCC's mission of transforming lives and communities is more relevant today than ever, and I recognize that these discussions are difficult for us all. Please understand that whatever becomes a final decision adopted by the Board of Trustees, it will be implemented in a fair and just manner following the consultation to which we have committed and is still ongoing. The solutions to which we commit cannot be temporary, they must be lasting and sustainable to afford our employees, students, and community the confidence you all deserve.

DeAnna Burt-Nanna
Office of the President
05/08/2024