Schools

Inver Hills Dodges Possible Shutdown, Thanks to MnSCU Deal

In preparation for a possible government shutdown, the college sent out 160 layoff notices last Friday. Those notices will likely be rescinded.

Inver Hills Community College President Tim Wynes is breathing a little easier, thanks to a deal struck Wednesday that will allow the college to continue operating if the state government shuts down on July 1.

Inver Hills is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, and its financial services and functions are overseen by Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB), the state agency that processes the system’s payroll and financial transactions. If that agency were to close as the result of a government shutdown, the school system would have had no way to access to its existing funds and continue to operate, MnSCU officials said last week.

But officials were notified Wednesday by Gov. Mark Dayton’s office that MnSCU  will receive the support needed from MMB to continue operations on July 1, even if other parts of the state government shut down. The deal means that MMB will continue to provide payroll and other payment processing for the state colleges and universities system.

Find out what's happening in Inver Grove Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Last Friday, the college sent out layoff notices to 160 Inver Hills employees, including administrative assistants, maintenance employees and technicians, Wynes said. Those notices will likely be rescinded once the deal with MMB is formalized, Wynes said.

Those notices would have been the first round in a series of temporary layoffs at the college. If the state failed to pass a budget by July 1, and no alternatives were reached to allow MnSCU to continue operating, all 283 employees working for the college this summer would have eventually faced layoffs, college officials said last week.

Find out what's happening in Inver Grove Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Shutting down the college, Wynes said, would have a significant impact on the roughly 1,300 students currently attending summer courses at the school.

Layoffs would have also disrupted students enrolling for the fall semester, Wynes said, because the college wouldn't have been able to continue its financial aid, admissions and campus orientation services for those students.

“Both the governor and Legislature have recognized the critical role that higher education has in fueling the state’s economy and improving the lives of all Minnesotans, and this will be welcome news for our students and our campuses”  Scott Thiss said in a press release issued yesterday. Thiss is the chair of the MnSCU Board of Trustees.

“My reaction was relief," Wynes said. “The disruption for the students would have been huge."

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system comprises 32 state universities and community and technical colleges serving the higher education needs of Minnesota. The system serves about 277,000 students per year in credit-based courses and an additional 157,000 students in noncredit courses.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Inver Grove Heights