Iowa’s community-college instructors could see smaller salaries as officials at the schools face a 10 percent cut in state funding.

The Department of Education is looking to cut $91,668 from community colleges’ salaries fund, potentially undermining schools’ ability to support salaries competitive with other states, according to preliminary plans released by the department. The colleges will also see roughly $15.8 million cut from their general aid funding.

But competing with other states’ average salaries isn’t the focus for most colleges, said Sandy Bruns, the director of human resources at Northwest Iowa Community College.

Instead, Bruns said the college concentrates more on making salaries competitive with other Iowa colleges and pay ranges in the instructor’s career fields.

Though most colleges do not anticipate troubles this year with stimulus funds filling in the gaps, uncertainty about future budget levels could make hiring difficult.

The 10 percent trim in salary funding should not affect how much instructors receive because most are on annual contracts, said Steven Ovel, the executive director of governmental relations at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. To deal with the cuts, some colleges will have to provide money from general education funds.

However, Kirkwood received 15 percent of the original $916,680 funding for salaries, and a 10 percent cut on that 15 percent is not really a large amount, Ovel said.

Hiring and maintaining faculty levels is especially important because community colleges across the state saw increases in student enrollment this year that require staff to take on more students.

“It is stretching people thin,” said Kristie Fisher, the vice president for enrollment at Kirkwood, which saw about a 17 percent increase in students this year. “It is going to get tougher. The 10 percent cut was more than we expected. We run very lean already and don’t have a lot of fat to be cutting.”

The cut in salary funding could hurt Northeast Iowa Community College not only in attracting instructors but in keeping them as well, said John Noel, the vice president for finance at the school, and it could restrict hiring in new fields, such as wind technology.

“With the budget cuts, it is difficult for us to start programs when we are pinched in regard to getting support from state,” he said.

The new programs are important because they would help the college continue to attract students when the economy begins to improve and fewer people are looking at community colleges, he said.

Most institutions are not considering midyear tuition increases or cutting positions to deal with cuts to general and salary aid, though many have phased out positions as faculty retire or leave.

Also, students’ wallets might grow a little thinner next year as the colleges consider raising tuition.

Kirkwood is eyeing an increase of roughly 10 percent. However, Dale Simon, associate vice president of the college’s Iowa City campus, cautioned it is still too early to make a definitive statement regarding next year’s tuition.

Despite challenges from increasing campus enrollment, colleges may see another student surge next year.

“It is always hard to guess,” Fisher said. “But if the economy stays as it is, I think a lot of families will be looking at more affordable alternatives to higher education.”