A chaotic ending to this year’s Maryland General Assembly session led to the automatic enactment of a so-called “Doomsday” budget for the state in fiscal year 2013, which, for Maryland’s community colleges, meant a 10 percent reduction in state aid. MACC leaders recently wrote to Governor O’Malley, urging him to convene a special session in which legislators can work together to enact a revised budget.
“In spite of the difficult fiscal climate we have all faced during the past five years, you have provided the community colleges with the opportunity to keep average annual tuitions and fees below a 3% increase,” wrote Dr. Guy Altieri, President of Hagerstown Community College and Chair of the Maryland Council of Community College Presidents. “However, without major changes in the currently approved FY 2013 budget, many of our institutions will be forced to raise tuitions beyond the sustainability of our students.”
