Commentary by David Henley: Budget cuts spare WNC Fallon downsizing

Although the biennial budget deal agreed upon by the Legislature and governor will result in rigorous budget cuts for Western Nevada College, its Fallon campus will be spared downsizing or even closure and its Fernley instructional center will remain open, WNC President Carol Lucey said earlier this month.

The college, which also has campuses in Carson City and Douglas County and other rural centers in Lovelock, Hawthorne, Yerington and Smith Valley, will have a two-year budget totaling about $30 million, which is $6 million less than initially requested by the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education, Dr. Lucey said.

"The cuts are still devastating and terrible, but they are not as great as we expected. However, they are severe enough to force us to make painful decisions that will result in cutbacks in all areas of instruction and campus operations," she stated in an interview.

These "painful decisions," she said, will require WNC to raise tuition by 13 percent, increase class sizes, close down the Fallon campus' registered nursing program and initiate a 5 percent pay cut for staff and faculty.

The Fallon RN program, founded here in 1993 with the cooperation of Banner Churchill Hospital, the Nevada Hospital Assn. and Rural Nevada Hospital Partners Inc., will be amalgamated with the nursing program at the Carson City campus.

"We don't have the resources to keep the nursing program in Fallon, but the student nurses still will be able to take several of their required courses such as science in Fallon before they transfer to Carson," Dr. Lucey said.

"My major goal now is to keep the Fallon campus intact and in full operation. I want to preserve Fallon's associate in arts degree programs and its university transfer programs," she stated.

Concerning maintenance of the Fernley center, she said that she has received "tremendous support" from Fernley Mayor Leroy Goodman and Lyon County Superintendent of Schools Caroline McIntosh in saving the operation from closure. The center in Yerington, thanks to their leadership, also will be preserved, she added.

Dr. Lucey, however, is unable at this time to predict the fate of the other rural centers.

Earlier this week, before the budget deal was announced, she told this newspaper that all the centers, including Fernley, would be closed.

When that news reached their respective communities, the center coordinators, faculty and students registered shock and dismay.

Richard Tree, Lovelock coordinator, said the news was "tragic."

"Our center's closing would be a hardship to many students who work and have families and cannot commute to campuses in Fallon, Carson and UNR in Reno. Many of our students have gone on to become teachers and nurses. And many senior students at our high school have dual high school and WNC enrollment which enables them to enter four-year schools with 12 college units to their credit. This is really bad for Lovelock and Pershing County," he said.

Hawthorne coordinator DeVona Scott, who has held her position for 16 years, also said the closure would negatively affect her students. The center there, located in a suite of rooms on the second floor of Mineral County High School, provides instruction in computers, traditional academic transfer coursework and personal interest and job skills classes.

Tony Hughes, co-publisher and co-editor of Hawthorne's weekly Mineral County Independent-News and former president of the Nevada Press Association, said he has been teaching WNC photography classes in Hawthorne for 26 years.

"Hundreds of students have taken my classes over the years, and many have transferred them for credit to UNR. It would be a real shame if our center closes," he said.

A Hawthorne student, who requested her name not be used, said, "All of us are sad that the center will close. WNC is important to our community. I work and don't have time to drive to Fallon or Carson. What am I supposed to do?"

• David C. Henley is publisher emeritus of the Lahontan Valley News.