Goicoechea protests further cuts to community colleges

Sen. Pete Goicoechea, R-Eureka, told the Sandoval administration Wednesday he will fight against any further cuts to the two community colleges serving rural Nevada.He made the statements during the budget overview hearing for the combined Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means committees.Throughout the university system, he said, “there’s going to be a modest increase.”“The big concern is the community colleges,” Goicoechea said during a break. “They are the only institutions, Western Nevada College and Great Basin College, that are going to be taking a decrease.”He said under the governor’s proposed budget, the colleges are looking at a 10 to 15 percent cut in addition to the multiple cuts both have taken in the past two budget cycles.In the case of Great Basin, the institution that serves northern and eastern rural Nevada, he said that some may say the proposed cut is “only a couple of million dollars.”“But when you take a couple of million dollars out of a $15 million budget, that’s a lot,” Goicoechea said.Western Nevada College, which serves Carson City and western rural Nevada including Fallon, is in the same position.“We need to maintain them,” Goicoechea said. “They can’t take any more (cuts) and won’t.”