A Student Publication of the University of Hawai`i • Honolulu Community College • January 2014
School facing budget cuts By Mathew Ursua
Ka La editor
The college could be more than $2 million in the red next school year, but officials remain optimistic that the deficit won’t be that bad. Stressing that the figures are preliminary, administration officials say they hope they can balance the budget by mixing some cutbacks and raising more funds from new and existing sources. Even so, faculty and staff members have been told to start preparing for a worst-case scenario that could lead to budget freezes, class cuts and other actions. This semester numerous classes with low enrollment were cut in the week before school started in a cost-cutting move, several departments reported. A big part of the potential budget shortfall is faculty salary increases that were approved in 2010 and go into effect this year and next. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported UH needs $19.5 million across the system to repay previous salary cuts and promised new 3 percent salary increases each year for two years. Another reason for the budget
Ka La photo by Kaleo Gagne
University of Hawaii student leaders went to the state Legislature earlier this month, urging lawmakers to support a budget proposal that would help ease a pending shortfall at campuses across the state. shortfall is the ongoing renovations in Building 7. Officials said that the renovations, coupled with building modular structures in the gravel lot to hold displaced classes, went over budget by about $200,000. Other contribut-
ing causes include loss of strategic outcomes funding, increased support of technology infrastructure and staff, and reorganization costs, said Douglas Boettner, vice chancellor of administrative services. The administration is at work
analyzing the budget figures, he said. They’ve brought back retired administrator Ken Kato -- a familiar name to many-- to help work on the budget and other Continued on Page 2
Students find some classes canceled as school begins By Sean Brown
Ka La staff writer
Students are already feeling the effects of budget cuts. The school canceled classes with low enrollment and in other cases merged classes together. Jeff Kanemoto, an ASUH-HCC senator, said that departments are trying to balance their budgets and make the necessary cuts as the university waits to find out if the state will pay for instructors’ pay raises. If the Legislature approves the deal, the systemwide shortfall won’t be as bad, and students won’t be hit as hard next year.
ASUH-HCC Senator-at-large Brian Cheung said his financial aid was reduced because one of his classes was canceled. His enrollment status was changed from full time to half time. He was able to enroll in a class in time to reinstate his full time enrollment status, but he’s taking a class he doesn’t need. “I picked Japanese 24 just to fill my schedule,” he said. Cheung said that teachers have told him classes with less than 10 students were on the chopping block, or in some cases, consolidated into other classes if possible.
Students arriving on campus for the first day of class had lots of questions about canceled classes and other issues.