A protest by K College staff at the Tonbridge campus

by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Staff at a Kent college walked out today in a row over plans to cut 145 jobs - as it emerged a finance chief has quit.

Members of the University and College Union staged a demo outside the Tonbridge campus this afternoon as part of a half-day protest.

While K College, which is £16million in the red after an ambitious takeover of South Kent College, is facing calls for the resignation of its principal Bill Fearon and chairman of governors Laura Ellis, the crisis has already claimed the vice principal of finance and funding Terry Coleing.

The financial mess, which has led to 145 job losses and closure of the Folkestone campus, angered more than 200 members of the United College Unions. Some have urged Mr Fearon – and chair of governors Laura Ellis – to go over the debacle.

The strike coincided with a crunch meeting of senior staff and governors to hammer out a recovery plan. The college aims to turn the situation around and achieve a balanced budget within two years.

It says it has already made "significant staff savings" without the need for compulsory redundancies. Staff costs are 86% of the college budget.

The college said its underlying deficit was £11million, but exceptional one-off costs had pushed this up to £16million. College chiefs have put two projects on hold - a new Ashford campus at Elwick Road, and a new technology centre at Brook Street, Tonbridge. Dover is said to have seen a rise in student numbers.

However, the Folkestone campus has been earmarked for closure. The college said it had been running at a substantial loss for some time and it would run courses from other locations in the town next year.

The multi-million pound hole in the campus coffers - a source said the college was effectively "bankrupt" - stems from inadequate financial controls during the college's takeover of South Kent College.

It seems as though the full financial picture was not known when K College launched its bid. It is understood that South Kent College leaders voiced concerns about the viability of the bid at the time.

According to people familiar with the situation, auditors have combed through the books and found no evidence of fraud, just "utter incompetence".

Job losses are proposed at K College campuses including Tonbridge

Taxpayer subsidy to colleges is different from schools. In further education, a grant is clawed back if a student who starts a course fails to complete it.

A K College spokesman said: "It is not financially viable to continue with all of the same staffing and accommodation arrangements that have existed in the past, and each of the college's six campuses across the five main towns it serves will have a unique curriculum offer with staffing, accommodation and resources that are fit for the students and employers purpose. We will seek to minimise compulsory redundancies across all areas of the college and provide redeployment opportunities wherever possible."

It was no longer necessary for each town to have "an expensive campus with high overheads in the traditional ways of the past. Maintaining old buildings has been a major problem for K College, as it was pre merger in the South and West Kent Colleges."

The union claims the plans leave the workforce of 1,032 people at risk of redundancy and come just two months after a previous reorganisation - supposed to secure the college's long-term viability - saw 50 jobs go.

It earlier said the large number of job losses is not justified and pointed to other colleges' abilities to deal with funding shortfalls without such drastic action.