BCCC's Response To Governor's Budget | Eastern NC Now

    WASHINGTON, NC     If the NC Legislature wants to support rural communities and create and retain good jobs in North Carolina, it has to put funding our community colleges higher on its priority list.

    The current budget proposal from the McCrory administration does not include a salary increase for faculty at community colleges like Beaufort County Community College. The average salary for faculty at NC community colleges is currently lower than Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee and, most embarrassingly, Mississippi. Since all neighboring states are more generous to their faculty, NC community colleges must contend with the constant flight of their faculty.

    Rural areas already have to fight a "brain drain" as young, educated professionals are lured away to larger cities by higher incomes. Community colleges are more evenly distributed geographically in North Carolina than universities, which tend to be located in urban areas. BCCC provides services to Beaufort, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington Counties, some of the most rural parts of our state. Community colleges are providers of middle-class jobs in rural regions that are often lacking other options for professionals, meaning that they also play a larger role in boosting rural economies.

    "If North Carolina hopes to retain and attract faculty who are talented, innovative and will give our students the education they deserve, it must invest more to keep them here," said BCCC President Barbara Tansey.

    The governor's budget has only a bonus for the year. Bonuses do not count toward retirement and cannot be counted on for the following year. This means that faculty will be less likely to purchase vehicles, buy homes or make other long-term investments because of the precarious nature of their income. These investments help make rural economies stronger.

    Already, community colleges represent a $21.5 billion impact on NC incomes. Forty percent on NC workers have attended a community college in the past 10 years. They are vital to increasing the number of healthcare workers in our state, as well as maintaining a trained workforce. Often the reason companies do not locate to rural areas is the lack of an educated and trained workforce. Hyde County has the highest unemployment rate in the state. BCCC works with local employers to provide training for their employees and supplies our region with new nurses and graduates with associate degrees.

    The NC Dept. of Commerce projects that by 2025 North Carolina will need an additional 440,000 workers with associate degrees to keep up with employers' demands for an educated workforce. The governor's budget does not give the community colleges the tools they need to recruit and train students in key programs. The number of enrolled students has dropped across North Carolina because of changes in our economy. If the community college system is going to offer an education that keeps up with the changing needs of our students and employers, it needs to be given the right tools and flexibility.

    Our local, county and state officials need to focus on investing in the future of our rural communities with the resources needed for education at all levels. We need the best and brightest faculty to keep our workforce ready for a global and digital workplace.

    For more information, please contact Barbara Tansey 252-940-6201 or barbara.tansey@beaufortccc.edu, outgoing Faculty Senate President Brian Miller at 252-945-3565 or brian.miller@beaufortccc.edu or incoming Faculty Senate President Matthew Lincoln at 252-940-6279 or matthew.lincoln@beaufortccc.edu.