By Tony Cella, T.J. Raphael & J.W. Townsend-Pitt

According to the minutes from the most recent Budget Planning Committee, there will be a 2.9% cut for the SUNY school system. For Purchase, 2.9% of the budget is just under $550,000. Albany indicates an additional mid-year cut is likely, and for 2009-2010 there may be a further cut up to 10%. According to the minutes, that would be upwards of $2,000,000.

Nothing is finalized as far as methods of dealing with the cuts, but the most common suggestion seems to be that fewer classes will be mounted and less adjuncts will be rehired. Jennifer Clarke is currently checking for the committee if non-SUNY-mandated courses can be waived as requirements for graduation.

The future construction projects will not be affected by the budget cuts, as Purchase has received $32,000,000 for projects related to capital construction, and $16,000,000 for maintenance. As well, the College does have some reserves and President Schwarz may decide to use some of that to cover part of the 2.9% cut for next year.

Carol Schiffman, Dean of the Conservatory of Dance said, “Will budget cuts affect the programs? Of course. But, it’s our job to see that they affect them as little as possible and the integrity of the curriculum and the experience of the students remains excellent.”

Schiffman said they may have to cut adjunct professors to compensate for the budget cut. “In our case, because we have a faculty member that’s coming off of a sabbatical, I will probably be hiring less adjuncts because we will be reintegrating that full time faculty member back into the curriculum,” she said. “With that said, for the Dance Conservatory, hiring adjuncts is a wonderful thing for us...because we’re drawing from the professional dance world, the ability to bring someone in who is currently at ABT [American Ballet Theatre] is a fabulous opportunity for our students, and that’s where not being able to bring in adjuncts could be a disservice for our students.”

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