Waubonsee to close small business center, downsize adult ed programs
Because the state is withholding money from Waubonsee Community College, the college is closing its Small Business Development Center and cutting back on its free adult education classes.
According to college officials, it hasn't received any money from the state since July, including federal money the state was supposed to pass on to the college. They estimate the state owes the college $7 million.
The change takes effect July 1, the start of the college's new fiscal year.
The college's 2016 budget, adopted last June, counted on receiving $120,000 in state and federal money for the business center; $900,000 from the federal government for the adult ed program; $55,000 in federal Perkins grant money for vocational education; and $300,000 from the state for its career and technical program.
Much of the federal money flows through the state's hands, and state agencies don't have the authority to pass it on because they don't have appropriations to do so. They don't have the appropriations because the state does not have a budget.
The adult education program is designed to improve the basic reading, writing and mathematics skills of people, especially those who did not graduate from high school. It offers courses in those topics, English as a Second Language and preparation for tests for general equivalency diplomas. It has about 3,000 students.
Two full-time and two part-time positions in the program, both paid for by grants, will not be renewed. Another four full-time, grant-funded workers will become part-time employees, and two part-time positions will be left vacant.
The Small Business Development Center was established through a partnership between the college, the Small Business Administration and the state's Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. It provides management, marketing and financial coaching to owners and prospective owners of small businesses. In 2015 about 400 people used the program.
In November David Quillen, the college's executive vice president of finance and operations, said the college would have to find $1 million elsewhere in its operating budget to continue to pay for adult education and the business center through June 30. It didn't fill some vacancies, and put off purchasing some equipment, among other measures.
The money the state owes Waubonsee includes $5 million in a credit-hour grant that was to be used for one-time, nonrecurring expenses, including equipment.
"While we are disappointed to have not received the grant to keep the SBDC running in its current form, we look forward to continuing these important services for our vibrant small-business community as an integral part of our Workforce Development offerings," college President Christine Sobek said in a prepared statement.