COLUMBIA, S.C. - The dean of the University of South Carolina Union says Gov. Mark Sanford's three-year plan to phase out his school would shut it down in a year.

"Frankly, if we lose a third of our (state) funding we'd be so crippled we'd have to close," Dean James Edwards said. "We couldn't offer the courses we offer now. The people who could go elsewhere would, but we'd be done in a year."

Sanford has cited USC Union's proximity to other schools and a 22-percent decline in enrollment since 1993 as reasons to phase out the school.

But Edwards says the 22 percent looks large because of the small numbers. He says the school's enrollment has fluctuated between 300 and 400 students during the last 13 years he's been the school's dean.

Sanford has proposed reducing the school's appropriation by $300,000 a year for three years. Half of the two-year school's $1.8 million budget comes from state funds.

Sanford's executive plan also proposed phasing out USC Salkehatchie. Sanford wants the money saved from closing the two schools, about $2.9 million annually, to be shared by the rest of the schools in the system.

At the same time, a new campus at USC Beaufort is under construction and plans for on-campus student apartments have been proposed.

State Rep. Mike Anthony, D-Union, said USC Union provides an opportunity for people in an area that has been devastated by the loss of textile jobs.

"This isn't chopping off a limb. This is cutting our heart out," Anthony said. "It's important that this school stay open for those who might not have the chance to go somewhere else or for the rural kid who's not comfortable with a big school."

Tim Bowers, 26, is a full-time student in his first semester in USC Union's nursing program. He has three children and his wife is legally blind.

"There's no way I could go to (the University of South Carolina Spartanburg, 30 miles away)," Bowers said. "I've got to work and I've got to take care of my family. This college is everything I need."

Edwards said USC Union is the only option for some students. A high school diploma is all that is required to gain admission.

"You'd be amazed at the people who come here because they couldn't get in somewhere else," Edwards said. "All they want is an opportunity, and many of them do quite well."

Sanford spokesman Will Folks said the governor is not unsympathetic to the people who will be affected, but the current budget crisis requires difficult decisions.

"Ultimately the governor's bottom line is going to be the taxpayer's bottom line," Folks said. "Under the current system, we've simply got far too many state supported colleges and universities out there chasing increasingly scarce dollars."

Still, Edwards is having a difficult time envisioning a system that doesn't include USC Union.

"We provide a quality education at a reasonable price," Edwards said. "It doesn't make a lot of sense to me that someone would want to eliminate that."