Sisters College Center may be cut

The popular Sisters College Center is likely to be a victim of $3 million in budget cuts at Central Oregon Community College.

"There's a lot of things on the list, but one of them is the college centers that we lease," said Sisters COCC director Celeste Douvile.

The Sisters Center serves between 400 and 500 local residents with classes ranging from distance-learning credit courses to a vigorous Lunch & Learn program (see related story).

Elimination of the Sisters Center would not mean the total loss of all classes in Sisters. However, offerings would be cut back, the space for classes would be gone and the computer lab and remote broadcast facilities will be eliminated.

Registration for classes would no longer be available in Sisters.

"That's going to have a significant impact on the quality of life for a lot of people in Sisters," said Sisters resident Kate Cerino.

The Sisters College Center is one of the most active in the community college system, Douville acknowledged.

"We have so many life-long learners in this community that love having this aspect of the college here," she said.

Painful as it is, Douville acknowledged, the college is trying to focus on its primary mission in catastrophic financial circumstances.

"The focus of COCC is on credit classes, which is understandable," she said.

COCC has laid off seven teachers and is contemplating deep cuts to band, theater and automotive programs.

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Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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