Countdown to March 13. That’s when the layoff of Freightliner’s second shift goes into effect, putting nearly 1,300 men and women out of work. They’ll be looking for jobs in a lean job market. Make that a skeletal job market. Many of the workers may decide to jumpstart new careers by turning to one of the area’s most valuable resources, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. They’ll need training, and RCCC and job training are synonymous.
Also synonymous, unfortunately, are RCCC and stretched resources. When President Carol Spalding came here last year from the Florida community college system, she discovered one of the quirks of education funding in North Carolina. In the public schools, a head count is taken near the beginning of the school year, and the state funds the schools accordingly on a per-student basis for that year. But when the number of students flowing into RCCC’s classrooms increases, the college doesn’t get increased funding to handle the influx until the following year. Intentionally or not, it’s a disincentive to grow.
But North Carolina cannot afford for its community colleges to stand pat. Already RCCC is feeling the pinch. Spalding told trustees recently that about 900 more students will be enrolled for RCCC’s 2009 spring semester than were in spring 2008, a 15 percent to 17 percent increase. Spring enrollment will exceed the recently completed 2008 fall semester’s enrollment, something that hasn’t happened since the months after the 9-11 of N.C. plant closures, the shutdown of Pillowtex in summer 2003.
What’s a college to do ó turn students away? That would be contrary to the mission of the community college system, whose open-door policy is one of North Carolina’s greatest equalizers. Community colleges do not cater to the economic or academic elite; they cater to people who want to learn and want to work.
Statewide, the community college system is swimming against the recessionary tide and asking the General Assembly for increased funding ó at a time when the state is taking some allocations back. The system is asking for an additional $250 per student per year for four years. That would amount to $201 million. Their slogan is “Create Success,” but the goals are specific and concrete: increase faculty and staff salaries (North Carolina ranks 40th among 49 states in this area) and update technology and equipment, an area that has not seen new funding for a decade.
North Carolina has ordered community colleges to make 5-percent budget revisions ó a $1.2 million loss for RCCC ó and Cabarrus County recently announced it will cut funding to the college by about $58,600 this fiscal year. Rowan is also in a pinch because of the recession, but it should think twice before it curtails funding for RCCC. Short of landing a new industry, fully funding RCCC is one of the few ways the county can help people who have lost their jobs get back to work. A one-time dip into the county’s $20 million reserves to help RCCC stay on track would be more than worth it. Increased state funding will come next year ó Lord willing.
It is also time for the philanthropic community to turn its attention to RCCC. The college teaches technical skills and helps people get a great bargain on a two-year liberal arts education to transfer to a four-year college or university ó and more people are turning to it for that than ever. Charitable foundations that have suffered losses because of the stock market will have to aim their gifts toward agencies and institutions that are most effective. RCCC fits the bill. Getting people ready to work is the first step toward continuing Rowan’s rich tradition of historic preservation, environmental conservation, arts and culture. Whether it’s by paving a parking lot or supporting an environmental science program, local philanthropists could do a lot to help RCCC meet today’s challenges. Sometimes community colleges feel like the stepchildren of North Carolina’s education system. Instead, they must be recognized ó and funded ó for what they are: the backbone of North Carolina’s economy.