MOULTRIE — The state has ordered colleges and universities to cut spending by 5 percent, but local institutions say they’re trying to minimize the impact on those who use their services.

Both Moultrie Technical College and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, a Tifton college that operates ABAC on the Square in Moultrie, said Wednesday they plan to leave vacant positions unfilled and use non-state funds if necessary to offset the state budget cuts.

“We’re looking at ways to cut without negatively impacting our employees, our students and the businesses we serve,” said Jana Wiggins, director of marketing for Moultrie Tech.

Wiggins said the state Technical College System has not yet given instructions on what cuts to make, but MTC has a contingency plan in place. Under that plan, attrition will reduce the staffing and layoffs will not be necessary. Wiggins said the college may have to depend more on the Moultrie Technical College Foundation, a private fund-raising entity that supports the college.

Wiggins praised forward-looking leadership at the college so it now “has something for a rainy day.”

ABAC President David Bridges said his college will have to cut $900,000 from its fiscal year 2009 budget, which began July 1, but he doesn’t foresee that directly affecting ABAC on the Square.

“The entire college will be affected in some ways by the budget reduction,” Bridges said, “and ABAC on the Square is certainly a key part of the college. But at this time I don’t see a direct impact.”

Bridges said the administration is entering the austerity period with a positive attitude.

“Enrollment and revenue projections are strong, and we fared well with respect to state funding over the past two years,” he said.

Meanwhile, though, he’s keeping a watchful eye on energy costs and other expenditures.

“The college has already taken several important steps to reduce energy consumption,” he said. “Because of the uncertainty of when the economy will improve, we must exercise prudence in expenditures for the coming year.”

Among the reductions he mentioned are suspending all ongoing personnel searches, transferring certain personnel and operating expenses to non-state revenues, and delaying all proposed increases in travel and operating budgets until an extensive budget review can take place.

Other colleges and universities across the state, however, are looking at more serious cuts: Fewer police officers, more part-time faculty in the classroom, no computer upgrades or not as many books and magazines in the library.

Campuses are preparing for possible layoffs because their budgets are eaten mostly in personnel costs. That would mean larger classes and fewer course offerings for the ever-increasing number of students enrolled around the state.

“We will not be able to provide the number of courses to meet the student demand,” said Arnett C. Mace Jr., senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Georgia. “We will increase class size. In some cases, we simply will not be able to offer courses. I expect this is going to increase time for a student to graduate.”

UGA would have to eliminate about 100 faculty and staff positions this year and another 120 next year, according to the plan it has submitted to the system office. The campus also would have to lay off seven police officers and cut $400,000 from its library budget.

Though the state has asked for 3.5 percent reductions, University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll Davis required campuses to trim 5 percent from their spending. For UGA, that amounts to $20 million in cuts to its nearly $400 million in state funding.

At Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, the reduction means $5 million. The campus will meet that goal by delaying building maintenance, shuttering plans for new academic programs and cutting $1.4 million worth of jobs.

The 17,000-student campus also plans to cut $50,000 out of its mentor program, which is aimed at improving graduation rates by helping new students adjust to college life.

For Kennesaw State University, the state’s third largest campus with 21,000 students in suburban Atlanta, the possible cuts would mean fewer security officers, academic advisers and staffers in the campus counseling office, President Dan Papp said. The university also would eliminate many vacant faculty positions and cut marketing budgets by $80,000 to achieve the needed $4.6 million in cuts, he said.

Kennesaw State already has to wait up to six years to update computer equipment, twice the recommended time for the quickly evolving technology on college campuses. That will only get worse with fewer dollars.

“We are falling behind, and we will fall ever farther behind,” Papp said. “The cuts, if they happen, are going to be painful.”

The state Board of Regents will consider the budget cut proposals at its Aug. 20 meeting. After that, a system plan will be given to the governor’s budget office for review.

State lawmakers will consider the cuts when it convenes in January.

Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said the cuts are tough but necessary as the state and national economies continue to decline.

“It’s no different than what Georgia families are doing right now,” Brantley said of the budget reductions. “Obviously, people are dealing with high gas prices. It’s taking more out of their budget, so they’re having to cut in other areas.”



The Associated Press contributed to this report.