Saratoga News
News
It's business as usual at West Valley College
By Michele Tjin
It's the beginning of a new school year, and with that comes a fresh start. At West Valley College last week, students welcomed each other back to a new semester. Enrollment is up, and no parking permit is required for the first two weeks. But best of all, state legislators passed the California budget, which means no programs at West Valley are in danger.
The fall semester at West Valley began on Aug. 27. Every available parking space was quickly snatched, and returning students knew just where to lie down for a quick nap between classes. New students, on the other hand, walked from class to class, studying their maps.
"It's great to be back, even though the summer was short," said student Sarah Ochoa.
She and other members of the student government passed out free notebooks and planners to anyone who walked by their booth.
"We just want to welcome the students," she said.
While the beginning of the semester seemingly went off without a hitch, college officials didn't know if that would be the story for the whole year. During the summer, they kept tabs on what California legislators were doing in regards to the state budget. It took lawmakers 55 days after the first of the fiscal year to pass the state's $145 billion spending plan.
During the impasse, some social service agencies feared that without state money, they wouldn't be able to pay their bills. Community colleges are dependent on state funding to pay for everything, from programs to salaries, but West Valley never had to halt operations.
"We have enough reserves to handle the cash flow issue," said George Kozitza, interim vice chancellor for the West Valley-Mission Community College District.
With a combination of a good ending balance, healthy reserves and additional income from the district's rental properties, both colleges had enough funds to last them until November if no state money was forthcoming.
"We've been fiscally prudent," said board president Chris Constantin. "I'm happy that we were fiscally smart."
The state budget bodes well for West Valley. It keeps intact the minimum funding level that is guaranteed to community colleges and K-12 schools, Constantin said.
In addition, while the college is seeing an increased enrollment, which has topped 10,000 students, West Valley's growth is in line with projections. This means it is getting paid for all its students. When the college surpasses its forecasted growth, it does not receive money for the extra students, though it is required to accept them when they enroll, Constantin added.
There were no visible signs that the budget talks had any effect on West Valley, but those who were following the discussions in Sacramento breathed a sigh of relief when the budget was finally passed Aug. 21.
"There were some moments when we worried," said student Thomas LoCurto, who serves as a student trustee to the board.
Budget talks stayed behind the scenes, and some students weren't even aware on the first day of classes that the state budget was an issue to begin with. Freshman Christen Parro was just eager to start her college life.
"It's been a long summer, and I'm excited to be able to learn things," she said.
In two years, she's going to apply to UC-Santa Cruz and is looking forward to working toward a psychology major.
"It's relaxing to know that I don't have to go back to high school," she said.
