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Due to its students' high transfer rate to four-year colleges, enrollment at De Anza College has always been high. And until recently, the school has done an adequate job in accommodating that demand, growing its student body at a rate of at least 3 percent annually—the state-set growth cap.
But this trend might be changing, as Gov. Gray Davis' proposed midyear funding cuts put the brakes on many services offered by the school.
The governor's proposed cuts of $215 million for community colleges caught the FoothillDe Anza Community College District by surprise, as this 10 percent reduction is more than double what the district had anticipated.
"We have already frozen spending. We've already cut back on programs and services to our students. The proposed midyear cuts for the 200203 school year come at a terrible time," said Dr. Martha Kanter, president of De Anza College.
In order to comply with the proposed reductions announced in December 2002, the district might need to cut its operating budget by $5.4 million—or about 4.7 percent—for the current school year.
"This is a proposed figure," said Mike Brandy, acting vice chancellor of business services. "We're anxious to find out what level the cuts will be."
Brandy predicted the final cuts for the district will be somewhere between $3 million and $8 million.
"This is very significant," he said. "We're already in the middle of the 200203 school year and therefore a lot of programs have already been put into place. We can't stop all of the programs; we have to honor most of them through the end of the school year."
However, to reduce costs, the district has cut back on class offerings for both the 2003 winter and spring quarters. In addition, the district is not refilling vacant staff positions and is reducing budgets for hourly classified staff, student help, educational conferences, supplies and other operating expenses.
The impact of these reductions on a school that serves more than 25,000 students is felt acutely.
"There is so much demand for education," Brandy said. "Right now we're serving about 1,700 more students than we received funding for. We would serve about 10 percent more if we weren't faced with all these restrictions."
As if the midyear budget overhaul were not enough, De Anza could be hit even more severely with additional funding cuts and student-fee increases in the 200304 school year as part of the governor's effort to close the $34.8 billion budget deficit in the next 18 months.
"I anticipate the 200304 school year to be the most difficult year for us," Brandy said.
In a letter to district faculty and staff, FoothillDe Anza Interim Chancellor Lois Callahan stated, "The proposal for 200304 is especially disturbing in that programs for disabled and low-income students—those most in need—have been disproportionately targeted for cuts. ... In addition, as the governor proposes increases in community college fees, there is no guarantee that the colleges will directly benefit from the increase in order to offset the draconian cuts he proposes to make."
The governor's fee-increase proposal would more than double student fees at the state's 108 community colleges, bringing costs for classes up to $24 per unit.
President Kanter plans to work with leaders of all 30 Bay Area community colleges in developing policy recommendations and legislative action plans.
"Our efforts will be focused at the legislative level to minimize reductions for this year and in 200304. We will maintain our commitment to serve our students in the best way possible within our available resources," Kanter stated in a letter to the De Anza community.
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