LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY — SUNY Sullivan’s college bookstore is now a thing of the past, but the space isn’t going away. 

It’s becoming a school-age child care facility, first for the college staff and then for the community.

One of the reasons behind the push to reopen schools is that parents need to go back to work. If the schools are closed or only partly open and parents are out of the house all day, who takes care of the kids? 

“We recognize the distinct need for high-quality day care in the county,” said dean of communications Eleanor Davis. “Employees and students will be able to make use of the new center and it will be made available to the community later in the fall.” 

 “We’re going to have to have a place for children to go,” college president Jay Quaintance said at last Thursday’s Government Services committee meeting. Healthy Kids Extended Day Program Inc. of Monticello will actually run the program. There will be a cost and the fees will help boost college finances. 

Of course, books haven’t gone away either. Textbooks will be mailed, and “we will also be offering free online OER (Open Educational Resources) textbooks which help reduce the cost of attendance,” said Davis.

Budget challenges

“It’s very tough for us to take more out,” Quaintance said of next year’s college budget at the committee meeting.

The biggest culprit is benefits. “NYSHIP [the New York State health insurance program] is prohibitively expensive and costs increase every year,” he said. 

 Like everywhere else, finances have been hit hard at SUNY Sullivan. The college cut next year’s budget by six percent and four staff members were laid off, Quaintance said. There could be more cuts to come. 

Much depends on state aid, which “may still be cut for this school year, so we are weighing options.,” said Davis. 

But there’s an upside. Enrollment is only down five percent for the coming year, Quaintance told the committee, and the biggest surge in applications is the three weeks prior to the beginning of the semester.

 The research and marketing company SimpsonScarborough predicted that college enrollment would drop 20 percent for 2020-21, saying “the effect [of COVID-19] on higher education enrollment could be catastrophic.”

SUNY Sullivan’s advantage is that it’s a community college and those schools see more students during economic downturns, Quaintance said. 

 Some programs are likely to be even more popular, like nursing and “we are getting some interest in the new CASAC degree and certification program,” Davis said. That trains substance-abuse counselors for the other health crisis the county faces. Something parents should consider, Quaintance said, is that a community college is a great near-term solution for those worried about sending their kids into a pandemic. “Get the credits, get ahead” of the game. And then when things are safe, “you transfer.”