Walla Walla Community College is considering 43 layoffs and several options to downsize or close its Clarkston campus as it seeks $4.3 million in budget savings. College officials said no final decisions had been made, leaving employees, students and residents to argue over how the plan would affect rural access to education.
College Leaders Seek $4.3 Million in Savings
The Washington community college is working toward a plan for the 2026-27 academic year as rising operating costs and changes in state funding strain its budget. Trustees have discussed declaring a financial emergency, but the college said the proposals were still under review. Officials expected to refine the cuts in April before presenting a budget for board approval in June.
The pressure has built over several years. Federal data cited by Higher Ed Dive showed that fall headcount declined 3.8 percent from 2021 to 2024, reaching 2,967 students. That total was 19.2 percent below the level five years earlier and 38.8 percent below 2014. The college reported deficits in fiscal 2022 and 2024, while operating costs rose 8.6 percent in 2024 to $60.5 million.
A new state allocation model is expected to reduce the college's funding by $3 million over six years, according to a college spokesperson. Those reductions do not account for the entire budget problem, but they deepen the gap between the institution's recurring revenue and expenses.
Clarkston Options Range From No Change to Full Closure
The board is considering several paths for the Clarkston campus. Keeping current operations would add about $23,500 in costs. Retaining only nursing and health programs would produce an estimated $1.3 million in net savings, while closing the campus entirely would save an estimated $3.2 million.
Clarkston currently enrolls 82 nursing students and spends about $2 million on salaries for the program, according to a presentation by the board's budget committee. Nursing enrollment at the site has declined over the past decade, including a sharp fall during the pandemic. Even so, faculty, staff and community members have warned that reducing the campus would remove education and training options from an area with fewer nearby alternatives.
The college said no final decisions had been made and that it understood how important the institution was to students, employees and surrounding communities.
Layoff Scenarios Reach Both Campuses
Trustees are also weighing several staffing plans across Walla Walla and Clarkston. Each scenario would eliminate 43 faculty and staff positions over six years, including 18 in the first year. The plans differ in which jobs would be cut and where the reductions would fall.
More than two dozen faculty and staff members spoke against the proposals at a March 16 meeting. Their concerns included the effect on students, employees, the regional economy and the college's ability to deliver programs. The college said it was approaching the process with care and transparency, but the scale and timing of the planned savings leave little room for painless choices.
None of those outcomes had been approved when the proposals were reported. The board had not yet authorized the layoffs, closed the Clarkston campus or made a final financial-emergency declaration. Employees and residents were still trying to influence the decision, so presenting the proposals as completed would misstate the stage of the process.
Rural Access Bears the Heaviest Risk
The budget figures place Clarkston at the center of the debate. A full closure would account for $3.2 million of the $4.3 million savings target, making the campus the largest single option described in the board's plans. That arithmetic also shows why the consequences cannot be treated as a minor side effect: a substantial share of the financial solution would come from removing a local campus.
The board must decide whether those savings can be achieved without creating a much larger barrier for students who depend on Clarkston. A financial emergency may accelerate decisions, but it does not remove the need to publish the assumptions behind the deficit, explain which alternatives were rejected and show how affected students would complete their programs.
If Clarkston closes, the college and state will be judged by more than the balance sheet. Recurring savings are necessary for an institution that has posted deficits, but a plan that weakens practical access can also damage the mission those savings are meant to preserve. That is the hard choice before the board, and it remains a choice rather than a completed closure.