By Danny Ellsberg
South King County Record

Two South King County colleges entered periods of financial stress (or emergency) within a year of each other. At Green River College, trustees cited a growing deficit, engaged publicly with faculty concerns, and recently removed the president. At Renton Technical College, trustees declared a financial emergency that enabled the elimination of tenured faculty positions — even as faculty leaders dispute the scale, framing of the crisis and point to unresolved questions about budgeting, oversight, and executive spending. RTC remains in their second year of financial emergency.

Green River: A deficit acknowledged, accountability exercised

Green River College’s financial challenges unfolded publicly over more than a year. Beginning in 2023, administrators acknowledged growing budget gaps tied to enrollment declines and rising expenditures. Deficit projections shifted repeatedly — from roughly $6.3 million to more than $10 million — prompting faculty warnings that financial controls were not keepin pace with conditions on the ground.

By early 2025, trustees acknowledged a projected deficit approaching $14 million and implemented broad cuts affecting instruction and staffing. In February 2025, the Board of Trustees terminated the president’s contract, concluding that leadership change was necessary to stabilize the college.

Faculty leaders criticized the delay in confronting the deficit but generally characterized trustees as responsive to concerns once the scope became clear. The crisis at Green River has remained framed around budget forecasting, enrollment trends, and delayed corrective action. No ethics complaint or external investigation into procurement has been publicly disclosed, and the college has begun moving forward under interim leadership.

Renton Technical College: A crisis declared amid dispute

At Renton Technical College, the sequence — and the level of dispute — differs.

The current president began her tenure in the summer of 2022. In the months that followed, an LLC was formed and RTC entered, with them, into a series of professional services contracts, including approximately $133,460 for cabinet-level executive coaching and related work. In May 2024, the college paid $37,224 for a guest speaker engagement that included self-published books. Records also show RTC paid $32,427 for student behavioral health services despite evidence that not all services were delivered; the contract was later extended.

In June 2024, an ethics complaint was filed with the Washington State Executive Ethics Board citing concerns related to this consulting, the speaker engagement, and unfulfilled contracted services. The Ethics Board accepted the complaint for investigation, which remains ongoing. The board does not comment on pending cases, and no findings have yet been issued.

Six months later, on December 11, 2024, RTC’s Board of Trustees declared a financial emergency, citing a roughly $800,000 loss in anticipated state funding following a systemwide recalculation. Under state law, the declaration granted trustees authority to take actions — including reductions to tenured faculty — that would otherwise be difficult to implement.

RTC Tenured faculty eliminated while questions persist

In March 2025, trustees finalized program closures and layoffs following a public meeting. Records show three deans eliminated or separated, six staff positions cut, four tenured faculty issued reduction-in-force notices, and three additional tenured faculty accepted early retirement — roughly 16 positions in total.

Faculty leaders and union representatives do not dispute that financial pressures exist. They do dispute whether the circumstances met the threshold of an emergency, or whether alternative accounting and budget strategies could have avoided or shortened the designation.

Meeting minutes show that faculty presented alternative financial analyses during board discussions. At a December 2025 board meeting, Renton Federation of Teachers President told trustees that the union’s independent review of publicly available dashboards and financial data did not support continuation of the emergency. They said faculty identified approximately $1.5 million in potential support and questioned why bonuses, hiring, and construction projects continued under an emergency framework. Trustees acknowledged those presentations but maintained the emergency declaration and continued to support executive leadership.

As of February 2026 the financial emergency remains in effect. The Ethics Board has not issued a decision.

One crisis closed, one still unfolding

At Green River, the crisis has largely resolved into a new phase: leadership change, budget correction, and forward planning. At Renton Technical College, the situation remains active — with an ethics investigation ongoing, the financial emergency still in place, and faculty continuing to challenge the premises behind it.

For students and taxpayers, the immediate effects are similar: fewer programs, fewer instructors, fewer choices. But the longer-term implications differ. How did we get here? See our related SCKR story about The Obscure Process of College Board of Trustee Appointments.