Community Colleges hit hard by state cuts as enrollment goes
up
Gavilan College staff took immediate action last week in the
wake of the failure of state propositions 1A and 1B at the polls
May 19. That same day, 937 Gavilan College students received phone
calls informing them that some of the summer and fall classes in
which they had registered had been cancelled.
Community Colleges hit hard by state cuts as enrollment goes up
Gavilan College staff took immediate action last week in the wake of the failure of state propositions 1A and 1B at the polls May 19. That same day, 937 Gavilan College students received phone calls informing them that some of the summer and fall classes in which they had registered had been cancelled.
“On behalf of the entire college, I wish to apologize for the inconvenience these class cancellations may cause,” wrote Steve Kinsella, Gavilan College President, in a letter to students. “The state budget crisis and reduced funding for community colleges leave no alternative. We remain committed to helping you meet your educational goals.”
If approved, propositions 1A and 1B would have restored funds from earlier budget cuts to community colleges and K-12 public schools. Other propositions would have allowed the state to borrow against future state lottery revenues, and to move money from voter-approved tax initiatives for such programs as the Mental Health Services Act and the Healthy Families and Children Act to the general fund.
In the week before the special election, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a budget for 2009-10 that included $581 million in cuts to community colleges statewide and $117 million in unreimbursed property tax shortfalls. In addition, he called for 50 percent reduction in student services programs such as disability resources, CalWORKS, matriculation and other programs.
With cuts for the current year, the estimated budget reduction for community colleges is $825 million if the 2009-10 cuts are approved. According to a press release from Gavilan College, community colleges are not eligible for federal stimulus funding, as are K-12 public schools.
The classes that have been cancelled are listed on the Gavilan College Web site, and account for 20 percent of the planned summer offerings and 10 percent of the fall schedule. Students whose classes have been cancelled are encouraged to speak with a counselor about registering for an alternative class, or they can seek a refund. Any student who has not registered in a new class within two weeks will receive a refund for the courses that have been cancelled.
The class cuts come as Gavilan College trustees have been preparing to expand classroom space in San Benito County – the trustees have been in talks with the owner of the Fortino’s building on Nash Road about converting the space to classes. In a February interview, Kinsella noted that enrollment had grown by 7 percent in the previous school year, and 12 percent this year.
Kinsella did not return calls for comment before press time.
The impact that the failure of the propositions will have on local K-12 schools is still unclear, and some officials are hopeful federal stimulus money will fill the gap.
“What we know is that we are dealing with a much tougher budget situation than we had and we are evaluating,” said Stan Rose, the superintendent of San Benito High School. “For most of us – and hearing from districts around the area – we are trying to see what the infusion of federal stimulus money will do.”
The district will approve a 2009-10 budget in June.
“We had already come up with a budget plan that we implemented and we will see what this will do for that,” he said. “We will just have to see what the federal money is looking like, and what the state money is looking like, and go from there.”
Mike Sanchez, the superintendent of schools for San Benito County, agreed.
“Those not passing will definitely continue to put pressure on districts to look at where they will be able to look at cuts,” Sanchez said. “Additional pressure is definitely there. The focus continues, I believe, to be that we need to take a look at all different angles to find out how we can maintain our level of service, and continue to serve our students and families.”
Sanchez did say no immediate cuts were anticipated, and summer programs run through the County Office of Education would move forward as planned. The summer classes at San Andreas and Santa Ana service seventh through 12th grade students.
“They are not large programs,” Sanchez said. “They are enough to provide alternatives for kids to move forward with their studies.”
