Oregon Public Broadcasting

The state’s projected budget hole now stands at close to $4.5 billion.

That’s almost 25-percent short of what it will cost to run the state for the next two years, according to the Legislature.

Because of its size, the state’s education system will bear the brunt of the cuts.

One cost-saving idea is to close one of the state’s college campuses – and to many people in Bend, that’s a scary thought.

Central Oregon correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports.

It’s most recent university campus in the state, having opened in 2001.

It’s also the most atypical – it can only offer upper-division classes, and the student body is made up of students from both Oregon State and the University of Oregon.

OSU Cascades is prized in the community not only for its intellectual offerings – but also for the region’s future economic growth.

Jack Chapman is a senior liberal studies major and the vice president of the student body.

Jack Chapman: “I came out here, just thinking I wanted to go to college. And OSU Cascades changed me as a person and as a student. And I don’t think I would have got that at any other campus.”

But with a gaping budget hole, state budget cutters say all options are on the table.

State Senator Margaret Carter is a Democrat from Portland – she chairs the Ways and Means Committee.

Margaret Carter: “We are going to have to restructure government. I know there are some people that don’t want me to say that. But I just don’t see it any other way. And out of crises come the best restructuring one can have.”

Carter says, for instance, Oregonians must ask themselves whether they can afford to pay for 8 college campuses.

Now remember, the OSU Cascades campus is the odd duck, or odd beaver.

And that puts the school on the firing line.

In Salem, several legislative committees have discussed the cost of the Bend campus.

The worst-case scenario for the school would be a complete shutdown. But even the second-worst scenario, a budget cut of 30-percent, would be devastating.

School and local officials have begun an all-out effort to save the school.

There've been press releases, meetings, and campus-wide emails.

Next week, students will caravan to Salem to try to convince lawmakers that the school is worth keeping.

Oregon University System chancellor George Pernsteiner says he doesn’t support closing the campus.

And at a meeting of the local City Club of civic leaders, OSU President Ed Ray and Cascades campus interim dean Becky Johnson both said the school will fight to save the Cascades campus.

They acknowledge they still need help from the community, financially and otherwise.

And that can be tough in this economy.

At the same civic forum, Central Oregon Community College president Jim Middleton says his school has enjoyed mixed support from the community.

Jim Middleton: “Actually the level of support for Central Oregon Community College has been quite good. Unfortunately, this last fall, our bond was defeated by a very narrow margin. But that also was a bond in November, just as the economy started to turn and people were looking at some scary challenges.”

Faculty and students at OSU Cascades say they're still building those connections with the community.

But they are confident the community will fight for the school.

Campus leaders say their big goal right now is to get good turnout when legislators visit Bend later this month.

The Ways and Means committee meets at OSU Cascades on April 29th, and school leaders say a big crowd of community supporters would be the clearest signal they could send.