By Cannon Russo
Staff Writer

CCC faculty celebrating moments after the amendment was approved. Provided by Jordan Fichtman

Alina Krolenbrock? “Aye,” she states. 

David Chitsazan? “Aye,” he replies without a beat. 

Board Chair Byers? “Aye, the motion passes.” 

The crowd of red shirt-wearing faculty and staff that had been waiting on the edge of their seats for those last words, erupt into cheer. 

“There are 7 members on the CCC Board of Education, but there are 14 members on the CCC Budget Committee (includes the 7 Board members and 7 community members). The vote was 11 ayes and 3 no votes,” said Executive Assistant to the President, Kattie Riggs.  

This was the moment the Clackamas Community College budget committee amended the cuts so many had shown up to protest. 

On May 1, CCC announced its 2026-2027 budget proposal. It contained a lot of dense information about the school’s $1.2 million deficit, proposed cuts and ways to mitigate further financial loss. 

The CCC Budget Committee held a meeting where students and faculty could voice their opinions on this proposed budget.

CCC budget committee listening to the testimonies provided by the attending faculty. Provided by Jordan Fichtman

Financial reduction proposals were dispersed across many departments, with some getting hit harder than others, such as the First Year Faculty Experience (FYFE), an award-winning program being cut by two-thirds. The program allows new full-time faculty to spend part of their first year in teacher training.

The college itself acknowledged FYFE’s usefulness, as Lucas Hann, a full-time faculty member in the communications department, stated, “Interview committees report using FYFE as a selling point for potential candidates,” he adds, “When an instructor had denied a higher-paying position in California, they cited CCC’s commitment to first-year faculty.”

Lucas Hann expressing his disapproval of the proposed cuts to FYFE. Provided by Wesley Northcote

Additionally, the proposed cuts would remove many lower-enrollment classes taught at night and during nontraditional school hours. 

Mary Jean Williams, an associate faculty member in the communications department, said, “These classes are often taken by our most vulnerable populations. These are people working full-time, putting food on the table for the families they are trying to support. They absolutely deserve our support with classes that meet their needs.”

These cuts were proposed despite an additional 17% increase in administrative salaries, according to staff members who spoke at the meeting.

“A six-figure director position has been newly opened for recruitment even as we discuss cutting the work and services for current employees,” said Jennifer Pope, Science Lab Coordinator and president of the classified employee union, which represents employees, including custodians, financial aid workers and IT techs.

One of the proposed cuts was to reduce Automotive & Tool Lab Tech Andrew Daniek’s job from 12 months to 10. 

“These cuts will have a direct and serious impact on our financial stability, our ability to plan for the future and our long-term retirement security,” Daniek said. 

Vice President Jeff Shaffer and Christy Owen respond to questions from the board. Provided by Jordan Fichtman.

After an hour of testimony from staff and union representatives, the board began to deliberate on how to alter the proposed budget to better accommodate employees’ interests.

“One of our main goals was not to harm our students and our staff. I feel like we need to sharpen our pencils and find some other savings,” said committee member Jamie Damon. 

Some committee members shared concerns regarding how the money will be allocated after the proposed reduction in cuts. The money would have to be allocated from a contingency fund that would otherwise be reserved for a potential emergency that would require it.

At the end of the meeting, Pope expressed how she was surprised by the outcome of the meeting.  

“This is really big for us because we’ve been trying to work more closely together between the three unions. It sends a message of solidarity,” said Pope.

The proposed reallocation of resources is not yet official, but the budgetary committee is set to reconvene on June 24 to iron out the details. Updates to this story will be added as it develops.