Loyalist’s deficit is in the spotlight at governors meeting

By Joseph Quigley

BELLEVILLE – Loyalist’s multimillion-dollar deficit was the main point of discussion at the college’s board of governors meeting Thursday night.

Loyalist had a $3.7-million-dollar deficit in its 2013-14 fiscal year, causing the college to try to find ways to balance the budget. It budgeted for a deficit of $2.4 million this year, but that number is now expected to be $4 million.

A chart representing Loyalist’s operating deficit the past two years. Last year, the deficit was planned to be $1.8 million, but it increased to $3.7 million by the end of the year. This year, the planned deficit was $2.4 million, but newer projections place this year’s deficit at approximately $4 million.

Loyalist’s vice-president of finance, Cathy Rushton, told QNet News recently that the shortfall is due to unexpected setbacks in the 2014-15 fiscal year.

“A number of unanticipated things have happened, and a number of challenges have (come up). Some of them have been funding-related, and some of the enrolments that we were expecting in second career and apprenticeships have not materialized. It’s gotten worse than what we thought it would be,” she said.

At Thursday’s meeting, board member Mary Lynn Rutledge reported on the issue from the finance, corporate services and governance committee of the board of governors. She said that the plan is still to balance the budget by next year.

“Due to (the $4-million deficit), the college is implementing new budgeting and management reporting tools and processes” to allow for improved financial forecasting and the attainment of the goal of a balanced budget in the 2015-16 fiscal year, Rutledge said.

The Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities has become involved in the process, recently granting specialized funding to help the college develop new tools for its budgeting process, Loyalist president Maureen Piercy told QNet News in a recent email.

A recent meeting between the college and the ministry has been the subject of some  scrutiny. In a message sent to faculty Wednesday, Bernard Belanger, the head of the union local representing the professors, said that the meeting was unprecedented .

“In my 26 years at Loyalist, the Ministry has not come to Loyalist because of its financial position. The College has not shared details of this discussion with the Union as of this date,” Belanger wrote in the message.

But on Thursday, Piercy sent out her own message to faculty, saying that the meeting was standard procedure. She reaffirmed that at the board of governors meeting.

“We meet with our colleagues (at the ministry) regularly,” Piercy said. “We were very pleased to have that opportunity to meet with them and update them on some of the issues. We had an excellent meeting with them. It was very productive and very constructive.”

Last year, the college introduced a retirement-incentive program, offering employees an extra benefit should they choose to retire. The program was renewed this year in an effort to generate increased savings. Belanger said this has had a negative impact on the college.

“Twenty-nine employees of the college took (the retirement incentive program last year). That has impacted the way that the college runs, in some cases, quite negatively. Because a lot of those positions weren’t rehired at a lower pay rate. So we’re missing that,” he said.

Belanger said he expects the ongoing deficit will hurt the quality of education at the college: “It’s a concern that I have. By reducing the committed staff that are teaching it may impact on our educational performance. We need to remember that the effort and motivation and the direction of the college needs to get back to offering optimum-quality education. It is my belief that, in this moment in time, (that) may be a secondary concern,” he said.

Belanger said that Loyalist will probably remain a small college but needs to focus on excellence:

But both Rushton and Piercy said that the college will do its best to ensure the impact of the financial situation on students is minimized.

“I think the reality is we have to deal with a fairly large (deficit) number,” Rushton told QNet News. “But we will (do it) in a strategic, thoughtful way. Students are on top of our priority list, so we will do whatever we can to make sure that students aren’t adversely impacted.”

Speaking after Thursday night’s board of governors meeting, Piercy echoed that message: “We will do what we need to do to resolve this and achieve our goal with the minimum of disruption to our students, our community and of course to our employees.”

Rushton said the college will have some tough choices to make, but will certainly pull through.

“Everything’s on the table. Everything is open for discussion. Whatever we do will be done thoughtfully, with a lot of focus on strategy and (on preserving) Loyalist for the future. We’re extremely serious about balancing the budget for (2015-16), and so we will do whatever it takes to make that happen. I think that the people here have the ability, the wisdom, the commitment, the conviction to make all that happen,” she said.