The impending state budget cuts will lead to a cut in the summer class schedule, Moorpark College administrators say. Comments, along with others, came at the college’s second town hall meeting of the year. College President Dr. Pam Eddinger met with the faculty to discuss the institution’s financial future on Oct. 29.
Today, the day after the election, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will meet with the state legislature to make up for the state’s growing deficit. Executive Vice President of Business Services Ray Di Guilio said the college should anticipate a $2-3 million district-wide shortfall. “We are not going to be harmed substantially,” Di Guilio said.
The district has a $2 million “rainy day fund” that will absorb most of the difference in funds when the “dark cloud” hits. On top of that, there is a $5.4 million unallocated reserve. Di Guilio said the college and the district have prepared to take a financial hit.
“We want to make the best decisions today to insulate ourselves from making those decisions a year from now,” Di Guilio said. Reserves aside, campus services will not go without some changes. Di Guilio said a hike in state enrollment fees for students would not be unreasonable. This money, however, would not go to the college, but directly to the state.
Dean of Student Learning Tim McGrath announced that due to unexpectedly high enrollment that state funding cannot compensate for fast enough, summer classes will be minimized to the essentials.
“We need to make sure we offer students what they need with the FTSs [full time students] that we have,” McGrath said. Eddinger assures the cuts made will be surgical and will not decimate class offerings. Students need the higher courses to transfer, she said. Classes have always required a class size of 15 to stay open, and now that cutoff will be stricter.
At 27, the school breaks even and 35 students per class is the productivity goal. Smaller programs, such as nursing, with only 11 students enrolled, are balanced out by other classes with larger enrollment, such as the social sciences, said McGrath. For this reason, many classes resort to advertising on Raider Walk to sign up.
Signs this fall read “Save our cl(ass)” to try and get more students enrolled to keep the class running. Despite times of fiscal crisis, Eddinger wants the institution to continue to grow, so in four years when the state emerges from the recession, Moorpark College is not four years behind.
