|
The feeling was like that of an old-fashioned political rally as thousands of people crowded into the Mission College gym to take turns at the microphone for seven hours. Signs were held up, there was applause and cheers, there were boos and hisses.
But it wasn't a political rally, and there was no campaign talk.
Instead, it was the March 6 meeting of the West ValleyMission Community College District Board of Trustees, scheduled to vote on resolutions to discontinue certain services and positions. Students and staff members pleaded with the board to come up with alternatives to meet Gov. Gray Davis' proposed budget cuts.
The meeting continued until 3 a.m. and then picked up again on March 9. It will continue this Thursday, March 13, as the board made no decisions, directing staff to negotiate "around the clock" with groups of employees' unions.
According to district staff, the impact of the governor's cuts is $15 million, $6.9 million of which West Valley College will bear. College President Marchelle Fox said the college's total budget is $30 million.
As a result, the college is planning to cut its 200304 course offerings by 25 percent; make a significant reduction in operating expenses; reduce administrative staff by 20 percent; eliminate 25 percent of classified and supervisorial employees; lay off 15 percent of full-time faculty; and make "a significant decrease in the number of associated faculty that we normally employ," Fox said.
Trustee Jeff Schwartz pointed out, however, that if the district is forced to cut courses, it will also lead to decreased enrollment, which means the district may not have the enrollment base it needs to receive money from the state.
"Our students will lose; you'll lose; we'll all lose," Schwartz told the audience.
In addition to the $15 million, the governor is proposing to cut categorical funds, which pay for programs such as the district's Extended Opportunity Programs and Services and Disabled Student Services. While the proposal is for a 45 percent decrease in funding, "I'm not sure we can stabilize that program with that kind of cut," said Joe Samuels, interim president of Mission College.
At both meetings, students protested the elimination of programs and praised the impact of services for the disabled and the disadvantaged.
One student was able to transfer to a four-year college after attending Mission. "No amount of money would have catapulted me to Santa Clara University," she said. "I desperately needed student services to excel both academically and personally."
Another student, who is disabled, testified on the benefits of Mission's physical therapy courses. "It's the best physical therapy that I've received," she said. "This has been the first place that I've received the things that I'm supposed to get."
The board also heard testimony from single parents with full-time jobs who rely on the community colleges' low fees and services for the needy.
District employees also spoke, accusing the administration of mismanagement over the years and mishandling the negotiation process, recommending that the trustees question financial information and asking them to come up with more creative ways to save money.
"Something is terribly wrong with leadership in this place," said Pat Andrews, president of the Association of College Educators Union. When the union offered to cut staff's own salaries and benefits, Andrews said, "the district said no to all of these efforts. Instead, they announced that they would issue March 15 [potential layoff] notices to all faculty."
"Chancellor [Stan] Arterberry has stated that he will not balance the budget on the backs of the classified staff. The board cannot balance the budget on the backs of students," Andrews said.
"The emphasis should not be on anything but education. The emphasis should be on education, and you don't cut there," one teacher said.
While comments from the seven trustees ranged broadly—from Schwartz's statement that his goal was to save the people, to Jack Lucas' reiteration of his promise to operate the district on a balanced budget—the board was not ready to make a decision.
Schwartz later said the testimony swayed the board from its initial plan to vote on the resolutions. "The board essentially made a decision to take every step to give everyone a chance to work things out," Schwartz said, "as an act of faith."
The March 13 meeting starts at 7 p.m., in the Mission College Hospitality Management Building. A rally in Sacramento for community college funding is scheduled for March 17. For more information, call 408.741.2106.
|
