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One local college and its students are feeling the repercussions of Gov. Martin O'Malley's (D) budget cuts, as building improvements are being put on hold and scholarships for future students will be reduced.

Capitol College in South Laurel has delayed construction projects such as renovating the school's physics lab and installing new signage and lab equipment until next year, said Derick Veenstra, the college's finance and administration vice-president.

The college has also ceased professional development funding for faculty and staff, and two part-time positions, one in library and one in student services arena, will not be funded, Veenstra said.

But the biggest effect will be future scholarship allotment. Current students will not have their scholarships revoked, Veenstra said.

"We will reach into our rather small reserve funds to fund scholarships that would otherwise go underfunded," he said.

O'Malley and the Board of Public Works announced Oct. 15 cuts of $345 million in the fiscal year 2009 budget. One item was the reduction of the Joseph A. Sellinger State Aid Program by $5.6 million.

The Sellinger Program provides state aid to private colleges' and universities' budgets. Capitol College witnessed an $82,000 reduction in these funds.

Veenstra said Capitol College uses Sellinger funds to provide scholarship aid in one form or another for more than 160 students. Capitol has 350 undergraduate and 400 graduate students.

"We use a great majority of the Sellinger funding to support engineering students and work with them so they can be successful," he said.

Christian Allen, 20, a sophomore and Astronautical Engineering major, scholarships are assisting him through one of the tougher and longer programs the school offers.

"The scholarships that I received are helping me get through college," the Baltimore city native said.

Without financial aid Allen said, students from lower income families like himself probably either couldn't attend Capitol or be forced to take out more loans.

"Anyone in my situation understands the severity of no scholarships," he said.

Veenstra said the scholarship committee meets quarterly and reviews applications and allots scholarship awards from January to March.

"It will be at least a three-year problem, no quick cure or turnaround," he said. "All colleges are suffering because of this absolutely cracked economic environment."

Capitol, like most colleges, uses a rolling three-year average of endowment funds to determine money available for scholarships. The college's spending plan takes 5 percent of that average and returns it in the form of scholarships.

As a member of the Maryland Independent College and University Association, Capitol is one of the 16 eligible institutions for the Joseph A. Sellinger State Aid Program funds.

Tina Bjarekull, MICUA President, said the program has been in existence since 1972 to promote collaboration and cooperation between the private and public institutions.

Bjarekull said it's important to look at budget cuts to the program in the context of other factors. She said alumni are giving less, endowments are taking a hit and families are struggling to pay tuition costs.

Debt expenses are also going up because fewer people are investing in non-taxed government bonds and not the stock market, which raises the bond rate.

"It's not just in Maryland, it's happening across the nation," she said.

E-mail Timmy Gelles at tgelles@gazette.net.