Crumbling economy forces cuts

   After the resounding voter rejection of the proposed rescue plan in the special election, college officials face cutting an additional $20 million from the current and next fiscal years, as state financial analysts recommend tripling student fees.

   Amid crumbling finances, community colleges should raise fees to $60 per unit, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. This would raise tuition and costs upwards of $1,000 per semester including books and fees for full time students.

   “I don’t know why they’re raising the price again. I can’t pay that much,” said Jose Molina, a Santa Ana College sophomore.

   Rancho Santiago Community College District expects the rise in student fees, reduction of classes offered, and the possible elimination of Cal Grants to decrease student enrollment by about 11,000 students.

   “It’s affecting the students that are currently here, and it’s affecting the student’s that we’ll never see,” said SAC President Erlinda Martinez, who urged students to voice their opposition to lawmakers in Sacramento.

   A federal bailout is unlikely after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that the federal government would not backstop billions of dollars in loans that California needs.

   “We’re on our own. California’s on its own,” said Peter Hardash, vice chancellor of business operations and fiscal services.

   Campus services that would not be eliminated include those that generate full time students, which in turn creates revenue for the college. Tutoring, library services as well as health and safety services would be preserved, Hardash said.

   Shortfalls in tax collection due to falling home prices and foreclosures have also diminished the amount of monies guaranteed to schools through Proposition 98, a ballot measure passed in 1998 that required 40 percent of general funds to go to public education.

   About 60 percent would be slashed from disabled students programs and services like the Extended Opportunities Program and Services and counseling.

   “This is astronomical, unprecedented,” said Hardash about the current economic situation.

   Even though summer classes have been reduced by 25 percent and fall classes will be reduced by 10 percent, administrators are still struggling to comply with the so-called “50 percent” law.

   This law, enacted in the 1950s, requires that at least half of a community college’s budget must be spent on instruction. However, with recent cuts, this law doesn’t seem feasible, Hardash said.

   “Act immediately. Don’t wait for legislature to act,” Jack Scott, Chancellor of California Community Colleges, told SAC officials. “The focus should be on quality, not quantity.”