The new president of Johnston Community College has spent his first two weeks on the job maintaining calm over an uncertain budget. Dr. David Johnson said Thursday that the challenge for faculty and staff is meeting the needs of more students - at least 500 more than last year - with less money.

"What I'm trying to do is get staff and faculty to understand it's not time to panic...yet," said Johnson. "We're going to be okay this year and we're going to move forward. And we're going to preserve every single job that we possibly can."

Johnson said faculty and students can expect larger class sizes as the college looks at putting resources where they are best used.

He said President Obama's announcement this week of additional money for two-year colleges would be well-timed for community colleges already struggling with budget constraints.

"There's a great deal of money for construction projects, for curriculum development, for graduation enhancements, for recruitment and retention of students," said Johnson. "So in these days of tight budget constraints, it's important to have extra money to take care of those deficits that we're into now."

Continued state budget uncertainty is a worry, especially the prospect of cutting a program that allows high schoolers to take college level classes at community colleges at no charge. The program, known as the Huskins Bill program, represents about $1 million in funding to Johnston Community College.

Johnson took over as JCC's third president on July 1. He is a Raleigh native who most recently served as provost of Southside Virginia Community College in Alberta, Virginia.

Hear the entire interview with President David Johnson by clicking on the video link above.