The May 8 decision was the third time the board had taken back the pink slips after receiving improved budget numbers from the state and identifying other sources of funding for certain staff positions. And for the 30 faculty members at West Valley College who received notices two months ago, and fellow staff, it's good news.

"I guess everyone's relieved," said digital media instructor Jean McIntosh. "It was stressful for the whole college."

"They're good people. It's really good people in a really bad situation without a history and experience for that kind of crisis," added Kelly Carey, who teaches web development.

"We're all relieved that we don't have layoffs, but we're nervous about balancing the budget," said West Valley College President Marchelle Fox. Fox said not laying off teachers—or classified staff—means the college must come up with alternative ways to cut $4.25 million out of its 2003­04 budget

Although "relief" seems to be a prevailing sentiment on the campus, school employees discount the board's belief that the decision was courageous or extraordinary.

"It was not heroic or a leap of faith," said Linda King, president of the West Valley College Academic Senate. "I see it as something that was past time to do. I don't think that those teachers should've been pink-slipped the first time."

King, who teaches anthropology, said she feels "great relief" but also "great concern—that doesn't solve the budget problem."

Carey said her colleagues are "disappointed and frustrated, but more by the big picture, for what this does to education."

"I think there's been a lot of damage done to relationships," Carey said. "There's no sense of conspiracy. There's no sense of undermining. There's just a sense of crisis." And getting rid of teachers "in the middle of the stream" is not the solution, Carey said.

With several long and emotional meetings in March, the board had voted to send initial layoff notices to 61 full-time faculty and to part-time employees that totaled 99 full-time equivalent positions.

Required by law to send the final notices by May 15, the district was faced with 17 remaining layoffs by the time May 8 rolled around.

According to Chancellor Stan Arterberry, each position costs the district $81,000. And, Arterberry said, approximately 86 percent of the district's expenditures are for personnel costs, such as salaries and benefits. Next year the district may have a budget deficit of $9.2 million, if Gov. Gray Davis' current proposed education cuts are approved at the state level.

Arterberry recommended to the board, however, that the district take back those 17 notices "if bargaining units agree to previous concessions." Arterberry said the retention of those employees would be possible only with compromises in medical benefits as well as compensation.

That action would lead to "hopefully having as comprehensive of an institution as possible" in terms of programs and diversity of courses, Arterberry said.

Trustees sided with Arterberry, taking a unanimous vote.

"We chose not to do things the right way. We chose to do the right thing instead," said Trustee Jeffrey Schwartz. The "right way" would be to balance the budget, Schwartz said. "What the district offers to students—our educational programs, our classes, our services—our people are our programs, our classes and our services."

With the vote, the district will not be able to lay off full-time faculty for next year. In a worst-case scenario, the district could be forced to shut down due to lack of funds.

"What we've basically done is to chain everybody in the lifeboat, so if one goes, everybody goes," Schwartz said. "If we're a community, we need to act like one."

Schwartz said an intense closed-session discussion had led to the unanimous vote. "The board and the chancellor were together on this," Schwartz said. "It was a very positive moment after some very difficult times."

According to McIntosh, budget discussions are "far from over," with negotiations continuing. "The district's not in good shape," McIntosh said.

"People are interested in alternatives of source cutting and alternatives of cost cutting," Carey said. "And I support what the administration is doing; I support what the union is doing; I support Marchelle Fox."