November 13, 2008

New Analysis: A Quarter-Million Students Will Be Turned Away If Massive Budget Cuts Approved

The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) will be forced to cut an additional $11.7 million from its current academic year budget and turn away hundreds, or perhaps even thousands of current and prospective students for the upcoming Intersession and spring semesters, under the cuts contemplated in Sacramento.

Statewide, the proposed $332 million in cuts would cause community colleges to turn away 262,845 current students, according to an analysis released today by the Community College League of California.

In San Diego, the SDCCD has already reduced over 300 classes this fall and is contemplating more reductions as a result of the reduced California budget that was approved earlier. The District still has large numbers of positions frozen and has had to cut operating budgets in order to absorb inflationary costs in the absence of the necessary Cost-of-Living-Adjustment (COLA).

Chancellor Constance Carroll described the situation as "alarming, not just for the San Diego Community College District, but for the economy of the region." High unemployment rates and other economic problems have caused many to seek or return to community colleges to prepare or retrain for work, according to Dr. Carroll.

In a letter sent to the Governor today, Carroll stated, "Please take the steps necessary to provide the revenue increases that are so sorely needed to correct this situation. California’s economy is at risk, but the economy will be enormously damaged by cutting community colleges at this critical time."

Despite the cuts in the number of classes already made by the SDCCD, Chancellor Carroll reported that enrollments surged this fall, for an increase of seven percent. "People of all ages, many of them recently laid-off, have enrolled for the career education provided by City, Mesa and Miramar colleges, and our six Continuing Education campuses. This is a time when we should be investing in employment training, not reducing it."