Lyndonville, Vermont - March 15, 2011
Lyndon State students spent the day brainstorming-- not in class, but at a protest they staged inside the college's Alexander Twilight Theater. More than 100 students considered ways to save their professors' jobs.
"We're not happy with the decisions they're proposing, so we're sitting," said Dan Haycook, a junior who organized the sit-in.
Those decisions come from Lyndon State College administrators who plan to cut staff to close a $700,000 budget gap. College President Carol Moore says cuts have to be made and they're bigger than ones made in the past.
"We can't fix this by not buying equipment for one year," Moore said.
The school says a double whammy caused the budget shortfall; enrollment at Lyndon is down this year and state contributions were cut 7 percent.
"This is my education at stake and my future at stake, and I'm not compromising my future," said Shera Howe, a sophomore.
"I'm concerned about that as well, but I have to make sure college is accessible and in good financial health for future generations," Moore said.
What about the teachers side in all of this? Although none of them would speak to Channel 3 News on camera, the feeling is that the school is definitely going to suffer if these cuts go through.
Some students proposed reducing the number of college deans, charging for parking, and even raising tuition to keep professors on the job.
"Bottom line is we're the ones who are going to be directly affected by this and we feel we should have some say in what happens with our future," Haycook said.
Vermont State Colleges says that Lyndon's deficit is by far the largest of all Vermont's state schools. They also said they're facing this problem after declining enrollment numbers this year, after last year's record high of students. Moore told WCAX News Tuesday that they have fixed this problem for next year and enrollment numbers will be back up.
Gina Bullard - WCAX News
