State woes promise cuts
Margaret Baum
Issue date: 5/27/09 Section: News
The state's projected $24 billion deficit after May 19 propositions failed will force CSM administrators to make some tough choices in July about fall classes.
Students need to understand that what happens at CSM is directly tied to the state budget, said Michael Claire, President of CSM. Until the information is passed down to us on what the budget actually is we cannot make any decisions, he said. Without having the exact numbers for the budget, the best thing that we can do is prepare and plan for deep cuts, said Claire.
"The state now predicts a $24 billion deficit," said Claire.
The financial situation is changing daily and we really don't know what cuts will be imposed upon the district, said Kathy Blackwood, Chief Financial Officer of The District Budget Office.
Enrollment is actually well ahead of where it should be because of overflow from four-year schools. We have had five to six straight semesters of increasing enrollment, said Claire. We made a proactive outreach about two years ago to increase enrollment, he said.
CSM is expecting a deficit of about $2.7 million, said Claire.
Classes with fewer than twenty people enrolled in them will be cancelled before the fall semester, announced Claire at an all-college meeting early this month. Decision about what sections will be cut will happen during the last two weeks of July, he said. This is nothing new, this has been the rule for the last few years, said Claire. There are some exceptions to this rule. There are some courses which are necessary for students to take to obtain an associate's degree and these courses will have to be offered somehow so that students have the opportunity to finish their degrees, he said. Faculty that are paid as full time instructors would need to teach their entire full time load even if one of these classes is under enrolled, said Claire. When asked if entire programs would be eliminated, Claire said, we are looking at consolidating programs through the district but are not at that point yet. If there is a program at two schools with the District, the program may only be offered at one of the schools eventually.
The best way to plan for these cuts is for students to register for classes early. Faculty has been alerting students to sign up early. Students should make sure that they have registered for their my.smccd account are checking it regularly. The president is committed to passing on information as soon as the decisions have been made. This way once the decision is made as to what classes will be cut students will have the opportunity to enroll in other courses.
Students need to understand that what happens at CSM is directly tied to the state budget, said Michael Claire, President of CSM. Until the information is passed down to us on what the budget actually is we cannot make any decisions, he said. Without having the exact numbers for the budget, the best thing that we can do is prepare and plan for deep cuts, said Claire.
"The state now predicts a $24 billion deficit," said Claire.
The financial situation is changing daily and we really don't know what cuts will be imposed upon the district, said Kathy Blackwood, Chief Financial Officer of The District Budget Office.
Enrollment is actually well ahead of where it should be because of overflow from four-year schools. We have had five to six straight semesters of increasing enrollment, said Claire. We made a proactive outreach about two years ago to increase enrollment, he said.
CSM is expecting a deficit of about $2.7 million, said Claire.
Classes with fewer than twenty people enrolled in them will be cancelled before the fall semester, announced Claire at an all-college meeting early this month. Decision about what sections will be cut will happen during the last two weeks of July, he said. This is nothing new, this has been the rule for the last few years, said Claire. There are some exceptions to this rule. There are some courses which are necessary for students to take to obtain an associate's degree and these courses will have to be offered somehow so that students have the opportunity to finish their degrees, he said. Faculty that are paid as full time instructors would need to teach their entire full time load even if one of these classes is under enrolled, said Claire. When asked if entire programs would be eliminated, Claire said, we are looking at consolidating programs through the district but are not at that point yet. If there is a program at two schools with the District, the program may only be offered at one of the schools eventually.
The best way to plan for these cuts is for students to register for classes early. Faculty has been alerting students to sign up early. Students should make sure that they have registered for their my.smccd account are checking it regularly. The president is committed to passing on information as soon as the decisions have been made. This way once the decision is made as to what classes will be cut students will have the opportunity to enroll in other courses.
Be the first to comment on this story