KY Community, Tech Colleges Trim Budget

Economic downturns usually spell higher enrollment in community and technical colleges.  But Kentucky’s community and technical college system, or KCTCS, may not be able to handle the influx.  State budget shortfalls are forcing the system to trim four percent of its budget, on top of several years of cuts of more than thirty million dollars.  KCTCS President Doctor Michael McCall says the cuts will mean less access for students.“Because of the amount of budget that we have—or do not have—we’ve had to cap programs, we’ve had to cap enrollments over all in a number of courses, and we’ll continue to do that in order to handle the additional 4% cut," says McCall.Officials are also considering doing away with tenure for instructors and eliminating health benefits for retirees.