Some staff at Walla Walla Community College could know as early as the middle of next week whether their positions will be cut in an effort to curtail $1.8 million of a roughly $4 million deficit within the next fiscal year.
Those cuts will affect both the Clarkston and Walla Walla campuses. At minimum, staff who lose their jobs would have until the next fiscal year, which begins in July, to continue working, said Rebecca Thorpe, director of marketing and communications for the college.
“I think the misconception is that people think that that will be their last day. That's not true,” Thorpe said.
In some cases, Thorpe said, the “off-ramp” period might be longer.
The cuts are to positions, Thorpe said, not individual staff members. That means that if somebody loses a position, they may be able to “bump” another employee based on seniority. However, she said, staff in one classification or union would not be able to bump staff from another.
The board of trustees also recently voted to declare a financial state of emergency for the college.
Stephanie Groom, the director of human resources at WWCC, said the declared financial emergency allows the college to consider broader reductions, but contract-specific procedures still apply for represented staff. That includes three unions representing classified staff, faculty and administrative exempt staff, respectively.
Some employees have asked whether there are plans to make cuts within the executive leadership team. Thorpe said there are, and that those are expected to be announced at the same time as other cuts.
Teach-outs and community partnerships
Following those cuts, the Clarkston campus will remain fully operational until at least June 2028. That “teach-out” period will allow all students currently enrolled to finish with in-person support within that two-year period.
However, the college is also still looking for ways to maintain a physical presence in Clarkston after that date, Thorpe said.
Currently, Thorpe said, President Chad Hickox and Jennifer Clayton, the dean of nursing, are talking with community stakeholders, including area hospitals, to discuss shared funding models for workforce training.
That might include continued classes on campus or potentially training at an employer’s location.
“We're mostly targeting nursing, but there has been some talk in the community of needing welding and the electronic systems technology as well. So, kind of looking at those, too,” she said.
The college is specifically looking for community partnerships instead of one-time donations.
“(Donations) would be better served going for scholarships to support students,” Thorpe said, “because that would need to continue year over year.”
A draft timeline roughly outlines a plan for discussions with staff and community stakeholders starting this month, as well as plans to start an advisory council that would meet with Hickox monthly, Thorpe said. The members of that council have not been selected.
“We're trying to find people that have a vested interest (in the college) but have not been at the table,” Thorpe said.
From approximately July to mid-September, the college aims to begin partnerships with local employers that might be interested in sharing financial responsibility for workforce programs, and look at developing models for what those partnerships could look like.
If that’s successful, Thorpe said, planning would begin around November and December. If not, the campus would close after June 2028.
“It's a really tight timeline,” she said. “But we've got it mapped out.”
In the meantime, Thorpe said, business will continue as usual. Clarkston students will still be able to receive in-person assistance with registration, financial aid and other student services.
“The other question is what should students do right now,” she said. “Students should just continue moving forward with their plans. They should apply. They should enroll. They should register for classes and connect with their advisors. No decision has been made yet.”
Thorpe said some nursing students have raised questions about the status of their applications. Applications that have been submitted are still being processed as usual, she said.
As for next year, students will know well in advance what their options are, she said.
“A decision on the cohort of nursing students for fall of 2027 will be made earlier in the same year,” Thorpe said. “So, students will know way ahead of time whether they can apply for 2027.”
Thorpe said regardless of whether the Clarkston campus is able to continue in-person after June 2028, the college will continue to serve students in the area.
