Gov. Mark Sanford's budget, released Thursday, targets the two-year campuses of USC-Salkehatchie in Allendale and USC-Union in Union for closure. Under his proposal, the campuses would receive a little less each year until their closure in 2006-07.

Losing those campuses could deal a major blow to areas already beset by poverty and unemployment.

"We're on the bottom right now in everything. If we lose Salkehatchie, that's just going to push us further and further down," said Charles Riley, Allendale County Development Board chairman.

In a small county such as Allendale, the campus is a major employer and a "major economic engine," said Danny Black, president of the Tri-County Alliance, a regional economic development corporation. "If you took that away, it would be a tremendous economic bust," he said.

The story's the same in rural Union County. Having the USC-Union campus plays a key role in recruiting business, said Union Mayor Bruce Morgan. "It would be devastating to us to lose that plum."

A USC economic study in the late 1990s found that USC-Union generated $6 million to $8 million in a year's time, said USC-Union Dean Jim Edwards. In 2002-03, the campus received about $1 million in state funding.

USC-Salkehatchie Dean Ann Carmichael, who also cited the USC economic study, said that campus generated about $11.9 million for the region in a year's time. The campus received just under $2.2 million in 2002-03.

"I think most would conclude that it's a pretty good investment of state resources," she said.

Sanford's plan notes declining enrollment at the campuses and says closing them would free up almost $3 million. In the fall of 2002, USC-Union had about 347 students and USC-Salkehatchie had about 747, many enrolled part time.

With 33 public colleges and universities at 79 different campuses, there is too much duplication, said Sanford's spokesman Will Folks.

The larger part of the governor's plan is to create a stronger governing body to oversee higher education and better target money to the specific needs of colleges and universities.

Other cost-cutting measures in the budget include reducing funds for USC-Sumter to encourage more collaboration with neighboring Central Carolina Technical College, a reduction in funds to research universities to encourage more collaboration, and eliminating "performance funding." Performance funding was intended to distribute state money to colleges based on performance measures, but little money is actually distributed through the program.

"Ultimately, it boils down to doing things differently," Folks said. "Decisions have been made with respect to higher education based on political considerations rather than the higher ed needs that are out there. The governor's goal is to begin the process of making those decisions based on existing needs and our ability to fund them."

Rep. Bobby Harrell, House Ways and Means Committee chairman, said closing the two campuses will be an interesting debate. "I sense the membership of the General Assembly will be very hesitant to do that," he said.

He said legislators from those areas will probably lobby to keep the campuses open.

The governor's plan notes that students at either campus are within commuting distance of several other four-year and two-year campuses and technical colleges, and new technology is allowing more students to learn through online, video or satellite courses. But there is still worry some students would lose out.

"Many of our students are first-generation college. They have no experience with higher education," Edwards said.

At the small campus, students build confidence that they can do college work and succeed, he said. "We send a lot of people on to other schools that never would go if we weren't here."

The Union County School District is finalizing plans for a dual-enrollment program in which its seniors can take courses at the college campus, a move that would increase enrollment at the campus and give students a head start on college credit, said Superintendent Thomas White.

Rob Bouknight, USC-Salkehatchie Student Government Association treasurer, said he knows students who couldn't afford to go anywhere else. "In night classes, there are a lot of people that are already in a job that are trying to make more money and further their education, too," he said.

Black, who is a USC-Salkehatchie alumnus, said the two-year campus gave him the opportunity to work and go to school. "I would have had a much greater chance of not having a college education today had it not been for Salkehatchie," he said.

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