November 9, 2009
by Online Staff | SacCityExpress.com
Thanks to Measure M we have a brand new gym, we are building a new fine arts building and there is talk of moving all humanities courses being taught to the new West Sacramento campus currently under construction.
Though new shiny buildings are great, if there are no classes scheduled to use them because of the cutbacks and cancellations, it seems like a waste.
For the 2009-10 fiscal years, the Los Rios Community College District lost $25 million in funding from the state. Because of these funding cuts the LRCCD asked City College administrators to cut course sections.
Each City College academic division received a 20 percent reduction in funding from last year, according to City College Vice President of Administration Robert Martinelli, at the beginning of the 2009-10 academic years.
District wide, this accounts for a saving of $2.9 million. Before the fall semester began, approximately 2 percent of the overall classes were cut. Next semester, Martinelli says another 2 percent will be cut.
City College Vice President of Instruction John Ruden said that the Humanities and Fine Arts Division, along with Physical Education department, was among the hardest hit in section cuts.
Logic would dictate moving some of that money from Measure M over to help with class funding. Maybe just improving our buildings rather then demolishing them and building new ones would be a better use of the money. Though this solution is glaringly obvious, language in Measure M dictates that the funds are to be used explicitly for facility upgrades.
The money being used to improve campus conditions was earmarked long before the state funding was reduced. But continuing to spend that money on improvements to a campus that no one will be able to attend makes it look like we have an addition and subtraction problem.
As usual, the politicians and bureaucrats have taken a simple accounting issue and turned into a multi-million dollar issue of checks and balances.
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