Howard Community College will be the county institution to face the biggest slash in state funding between now and June as Maryland officials work to plug a $1.2 billion deficit, according to Howard's budget director, Holly Sun.
The community college will lose nearly $700,000 in funds it had anticipated receiving from the state in fiscal year 2015, which runs from July 1, 2014 to June 30 of this year, Sun told Howard County Council members Monday during a budget presentation at the council's February monthly meeting.
The cuts stem from mid-year recommendations made by former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, before he left office in January. A proposed budget from new Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, indicates that fiscal year 2016 will be leaner, as well.
In all, Howard County faces some $7.9 million in state cuts between fiscal years 2015 and 2016, Sun said. Other losses in state funding include a $5.7 million decrease in funds to the Board of Education, a $250,000 slash in grant money to the county's health department and $44,000 less than projected for the library system.
"We are very concerned about the cuts, especially in the education sector," Sun told the council.
According to Elizabeth Homan, a spokeswoman for HCC, the reduction represents half of the funding increase the community college had received from the state this fiscal year.
"As a result, we have slowed our hiring processes, and in some cases, we have decided not to fill vacant positions. In addition, we have cut back funding for contracted services, and we are reducing travel and monitoring requests," Homan wrote in an email.
Next fiscal year will likely see state-level budget cuts for the community college, as well.
Community colleges in Maryland are funded through the John A. Cade formula, which has been reduced in Hogan's proposed budget for fiscal year 2016. According to Homan, HCC would receive nearly $900,000 less than the formula recommends, which would leave funding for the college "slightly above where we were at the beginning of the 2015 fiscal year, but... well below the state's own formula," Homan wrote.
Other community colleges in the state might not be so lucky: "Ten out of the remaining 15 community colleges [in Maryland] may have to operate with less state funding than the year before," according to Homan. Students from all 16 of the state's community colleges are set to rally in Annapolis on Wednesday to advocate for education funding that is at least equal to last year's levels.
Sen. Guy Guzzone, the chair of Howard County's delegation to Annapolis and a member of the Budget and Taxation committee, said he's "very concerned about the current year and future years" when it comes to state funding for HCC.
Guzzone said he would push for more money for the community college in 2016.
"I'm very much in favor of restoring any cuts to the Cade formula," he said. "Of course, that means we have to find cuts somewhere else in the state's budget."
Howard Community College's approved operating budget for fiscal year 2015 is $78 million, with $31 million coming from the county and $13.1 million from the state, according to reports on the college's website.
County Executive Allan Kittleman, who accompanied Sun to the monthly meeting, said he has drafted a letter to Hogan and state budget secretary David Brinkley to ask for a reduction in the education cuts.
Kittleman served with Brinkley, a former Republican state senator, for a decade in Annapolis before being elected county executive.
"Fortunately, I do have some folks I know up there, but that doesn't mean they're going to treat us better than others," Kittleman said. "But at least I have an ability to talk to them. I'm going to be reaching out to [Brinkley] to see what we can possibly do to lessen the impact."