Cañada College budget to be slashed by 18 percent
Daniel Marroquin
Issue date: 12/14/09 Section: News
being slashed more than 18 percent over two years, from $15.9 million in 2008-09 to $13 million in 2010-11, due to California's economic downturn.
The college anticipates a 13 percent reduction, from $12.6 million to $11 million, in funds supporting instruction from 2008-09 to 2010-11, said Peter Barbatis, vice president of student services at Cañada.
These reductions translate to administrative staff reductions of 20 percent and adjunct faculty budget reductions of nearly 50 percent, said Cañada College President Tom Mohr.
Cañada's budget for adjunct and hourly faculty for 2010-11 is anticipated to be $2.2 million dollars, down 45 percent in three years. This reduction translates to cutting 121 classes, or more than 3,000 classroom seats, said Mohr.
Cañada also expects a 40 percent decline from $3.4 million to $2 million in state categorical funding that supports other programs over the same two-year period. From 2008-09 to 2009-10, categorical funds were slashed by $1.3 million.
Cañada has responded by reducing its counseling staffing by 45 percent to just six counselors, and eliminating 2,400 hours of student counseling. Barbatis suggested group orientation, group counseling and a digital librarian to offset the cuts.
State revenue projections are down, due to property tax shortfalls, said Margie Carrington, Cañada's financial aid services director. This will lead to mid-year budget cuts in spring 2010.
The decline in funding is accompanied by a period of growth in demand for courses, estimated at 31 percent from 2007-08 to 2010-11, said Sarah Perkins, vice president of instruction at Cañada.
"We are serving more students than we are being funded for, and that is the right thing to do," said Perkins.
The college has seen a steady rise in the number of transfer students since fall 2004, which had 1,770 transfer students, she said. Cañada has 2,445 students this fall who plan to transfer to either a UC, CSU or a private university.
The college anticipates a 13 percent reduction, from $12.6 million to $11 million, in funds supporting instruction from 2008-09 to 2010-11, said Peter Barbatis, vice president of student services at Cañada.
These reductions translate to administrative staff reductions of 20 percent and adjunct faculty budget reductions of nearly 50 percent, said Cañada College President Tom Mohr.
Cañada's budget for adjunct and hourly faculty for 2010-11 is anticipated to be $2.2 million dollars, down 45 percent in three years. This reduction translates to cutting 121 classes, or more than 3,000 classroom seats, said Mohr.
Cañada also expects a 40 percent decline from $3.4 million to $2 million in state categorical funding that supports other programs over the same two-year period. From 2008-09 to 2009-10, categorical funds were slashed by $1.3 million.
Cañada has responded by reducing its counseling staffing by 45 percent to just six counselors, and eliminating 2,400 hours of student counseling. Barbatis suggested group orientation, group counseling and a digital librarian to offset the cuts.
State revenue projections are down, due to property tax shortfalls, said Margie Carrington, Cañada's financial aid services director. This will lead to mid-year budget cuts in spring 2010.
The decline in funding is accompanied by a period of growth in demand for courses, estimated at 31 percent from 2007-08 to 2010-11, said Sarah Perkins, vice president of instruction at Cañada.
"We are serving more students than we are being funded for, and that is the right thing to do," said Perkins.
The college has seen a steady rise in the number of transfer students since fall 2004, which had 1,770 transfer students, she said. Cañada has 2,445 students this fall who plan to transfer to either a UC, CSU or a private university.
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