Community College Journal - February/March 2011

We have been very open with everyone about our financial challenges as an organization, and we have
been openly appreciative of our faculty and staff who
have picked up so much of the extra work.
—Robert Gallagher, board chair, Eastern Iowa Community College

some programs and services. We’ve learned that the budget crisis will be a long-term event and have prepared accordingly.

CHACHERE: Again, it is about long-
term planning and constantly looking
at “what-if” scenarios so that we are
prepared and being proactive, rather
than reacting to the bad news when
it hits. St. Louis Community College
has an exceptional group of officers
who work under the direction of our
talented chancellor, Dr. Zelema Harris.
Together with the board of trustees,
and guided by our mission and stra-
tegic plan, we have steadily built our
reserves and prepared well for the cur-
rent economic climate.

If you had to repeat the last couple of years, what would you have done differently? CHACHERE: We have had to make some decisions that were not popular with some very vocal constituents who reacted by attempting to undermine all of the positive work the board and the college have accomplished. Over time, these persons all came to realize that the right decision was made for the right reasons and their individual needs continued to be met, just in different ways. For example, we consolidated our daycare centers by closing the facilities on two campuses while leaving one campus facility open. We learned after much study that only about half of the slots were used by our students, that the subsidy allocated for this small number of students was not appropriate given the needs of all of our students, and that nearby facilities could accommodate the affected students who would themselves be able to take advantage of other grants for this purpose.