Legislators visit NCCC

WINSTED — With legislators facing uncertainty in the 2014-15 state budget, a group of veteran and newly elected lawmakers visited Northwestern Connecticut Community College on March 1 for an annual legislative breakfast to discuss a range of money-related issues. Not surprisingly, anticipated cuts to the state budget and support for secondary education were among the chief concerns expressed by constituents, who agreed that anything but funding decreases are what community colleges currently need.NCCC President Barbara Douglass delivered a mix of good and bad news to open the meeting, telling legislators that funding cuts have already resulted in numerous staff and program reductions. Douglass said half of the school’s tutors had been eliminated and that hours at the NCCC library have been significantly cut.“The library is no longer open on weekends, and that, to me, is heartbreaking,” she said. Legislators in attendance included Winsted’s state Rep. Jay Case (R-63), along with state Reps. Bill Simanski (R-62), Roberta Willis (D-64), Michelle Cook (D-65) and Tim LeGeyt (R-17) and state Sen. Clark Chapin (R-30), all of whom expressed support for the college.To highlight successes at the college, two nursing students, Michelle Johansson and Donna Newsome, were chosen to give presentations to the legislators. Johansson, a mother of four children and president of the NCCC Nursing Association, told attendees that the college had changed her life and that her success would not have been possible without an institution like NCCC. Newsome noted that the college had turned her life around after years of feeling like “something was missing.” Both women will graduate with nursing degrees at the end of the current school year.Douglass noted that, because both Johansson and Newsome are nontraditional students, they are not counted in NCCC’s graduation success rate, due to an antiquated formula the state uses to tally graduations. Legislators expressed enthusiastic support for the students and noted that it was refreshing to hear their side of the story. “What you are doing is beyond impressive,” said Rep. Cook. “You should be so very proud of yourselves.”Rep. Simanski echoed Cook’s support. “My objective today is to listen and learn. This is my first time at the college and I’m very impressed. I’m excited to hear about these nontraditional students.”Rep. Willis, a member of the college foundation’s board of directors, noted that privately raised funds have played a major part in the NCCC’s ongoing development. “It’s important for the legislature to know that funding for the nursing program doesn’t come from the state. It comes from the community,” Willis said. “We cannot, as a community, continue to raise the money to sustain this program. I wish we could take these students on the road and take them to Hartford.” Rep. Case took some time to discuss the two-year, $48.3 billion state budget that has been proposed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.“I am wondering, with all of the cuts, where the 9-percent increase is,” he said. Case said he has been reviewing the governor’s proposal and he has yet to see where increased spending shows up in the budget to help local communities and schools. “We are all working very hard to get through the budget,” he added. Rep. Willis said much of the increased spending is due to increased costs for Medicaid, which will be serving an increased number of residents in the future. She also noted that cuts are often leveled at higher education because it is an easy target.“Why do we keep getting cut? We’re not an entitlement program, and it always seems very easy to cut higher education. The premise is you can always raise tuition, but that’s getting old,” she said.Willis also said she wondered why the University of Connecticut is often the first school to receive significant investments from the state.“I really feel the Connecticut state university system and the community college system should be seeing that kind of investment,” she said.Legislators in attendance said it was too early to tell how this year’s budget process will ultimately affect community colleges, but they reiterated their support for NCCC.“People need to send letters to the governor and their legislators and tell people what this school means to you,” said Cook. Douglass ended the breakfast meeting with a bit of humor, telling legislators that she has always found her job at NCCC to be a rewarding one.“I can’t believe they pay me to do this job,” she said. “But trust me, they keep paying me less.”