Moorpark College and its two sister schools will eliminate 60 jobs due to budget cuts.
In a 4-0 vote, the Board of Trustees for theVentura County Community College District eliminated 20 jobs and reduced the number of months for which 14 payroll employees will get paid. These layoffs and pay cuts are expected to save the district as a whole around $3 million.
“This was the most difficult decision I have faced since I came to Moorpark College,” said President Eddinger.
Before the three college’s presidents spoke, faculty from each college, as well as former students, addressed the board to inform them why the board should rethink the process before voting.
Among these speakers was Deanna Franke, department chair for the Chemistry Department at Moorpark College. “This reduction in hours is really inequitable and unfair the way it was administered throughout the district,” said Franke. “…essentially Moorpark College will be the least desired location to work as a chemistry lab technician.”
President Eddinger explained to the board the consultation process that Moorpark College used. It assessed which academic programs are essential and which can tolerate some cuts.
Next, Eddinger, the six college deans, and the administrative council expressed the steps they took before coming to their recommendations.
Then Eddinger expressed Moorpark College’s proposal. Her plan focuses mainly on the lab technicians by staggering work months and cross training. She said she hopes that instructors will help in the reengineering process by streamlining their experiments to leverage the limited resources that Moorpark College has.
Within Moorpark College the job elimination’ consist of seven clerical assistants, one administrative assistant, one accounting technician, two business office assistants, four child development assistants, as well as one child development associate, one maintenance supervisor, one operations supervisor, one admissions and records technician, and one bookstore operations assistant which is currently vacant.
These layoffs are just another consequence that derives around the district’s budget cuts that have been impacting the college this semester along with previous ones. The district is leaning on the hopes of the passage of the governor’s tax initiative which will substain the district but according to Sue Johnson, vice chancellor of bussiness and administrative services, even if the tax initiative passes, the district will still face more cuts in the year to come.
