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State colleges warned of budget cuts

State agencies are preparing for budget cuts for the next fiscal year, as the state’s income tax rolls back from the temporary 5% rate to 3.75% in January.  The drop in revenue could leave a 4 billion dollar hole in the 2016 budget.

After meeting with members of Governor-elect Bruce Rauner’s transition team, the Executive Director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education a letter to the state’s college presidents warning them that they could see state funding cuts of up to 30 percent over the next 18 months.  

Doctor John Avandano, President of Kankakee Community College, says he wasn’t surprised to hear of further cuts to state funding of higher education…

"We also need to do our share in making sure that we still provide quality education, quality opportunities for business and industry training, but still recognizing that we're going to probably have to tighten our own belts significantly." 

Avandano says community colleges get one-third of their funding from the state, with the other two-thirds from local property taxes and tuition.  He says the cuts will likely lead to tuition hikes for most of the state's community colleges.