ECC board candidates talk finances, college's future

With uncertain state funding, Elgin Community College trustee candidates say many challenges lie ahead with keeping the institution viable.

Incumbent John Duffy of Elgin, and newcomers Candace McCreary of Streamwood, Shane Nowak of Elgin, Jennifer Rakow of St. Charles, and Roger Ramey of Bartlett are vying for three 6-year seats on the ECC board April 4.

McCreary, 62, a college instructor, said there were significant deficiencies identified in the past year's financial audit, which concerns her whether the college board has proper financial controls in place.

"If the trustees are not doing due diligence in their fiduciary responsibilities, there is a concern who is really watching what is going on there," said McCreary, who previously served as a Streamwood trustee and is a current board member of the Poplar Creek Public Library District.

She said the college should maintain at least a year's worth of operating expenses in reserves to bolster against funding shortfalls and seek out more community support with local businesses financing programs.

Duffy, 82, who has served on the ECC board for 42 years, said the state's spiraling financial situation has forced cuts to programs and staffing.

State aid, Duffy said, is "not getting any better. We have cut expenditures in every department. We've cut over $5 million out of the budget. MAP (Monetary Award Program) grant was promised to the neediest students in every district, and then the state says we're not funding that."

That forced officials to take $1 million out of reserves to fund MAP grants for students, he added.

Duffy said while he believes in keeping tuition and property taxes as low as possible, "those are the only alternatives we have."

Nowak, 36, a 2002 ECC graduate who works as a financial aid adviser, said he is concerned about students being able to afford college in future.

"The student loan debt in this country is out of control," said Nowak, who believes the need for community colleges is rising with people seeking to change professions as he did becoming an emergency medical technician after he couldn't find a job in his field of political science.

He said ECC should expand its online course offerings to fulfill that need for rural populations that could benefit from distance learning and increase enrollment instead of tuitions.

Rakow, 49, a human resources director for a construction company, said ECC needs to focus more on strengthening career pathways for high school students. She lauded ECC's Alliance for College Readiness initiative and partnerships with local school districts to get high school seniors started with dual-credit college courses.

"There's a big push right now to get kids started early on with college," she said. "That's very admirable. A lot of kids are ready for that. Why hold them back?"

Rakow suggested offering more dual-credit programs and perhaps increasing class sizes to keep tuition down. She added, officials should increase efforts to understand the needs of local communities and align academic programs accordingly.

Ramey, 69, a retired ECC professor and an ECC Foundation board member, said while the number of certificates awarded by the college have gone down, more students are completing degree programs.

"One of the things the board could consider is retirement incentives to reduce costs," he said.