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Officials: MiraCosta safe from big state budget cuts
By: PHILIP K. IRELAND - Staff Writer
Coastal community college mostly supported by local taxes | ∞
OCEANSIDE -- Oceanside's community college system will escape Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget ax with a relatively light trim, MiraCosta College officials said Friday.
Supported almost entirely by ample local property taxes, the community college district of three campuses and a $90 million budget expects to get $170,000 to $200,000 less next year than it did this year, said Jim Austin, vice-president of business and administrative services.
However, those reductions in 12 special "categorical" programs will effect the college's most vulnerable students.
"Those are your most needy students," Austin said. "They're the single parents, they're the disabled, they're the students who need the most counseling and tutoring. We'll have to find funding in other places to do that -- so there is an impact, but it's not a huge impact right now."
The college plans on spending about $3.4 million on categorical programs this year, said Becky Trayer, the college's director of fiscal services.
Austin's comments come a week after Schwarzenegger, citing a projected $14 billion state budget shortfall over the next 18 months, declared a fiscal emergency during his state-of-the-state address Jan. 10.
Schwarzenegger ordered most state agencies to gird for what he described as a 10 percent reduction in expected state funding. That 10 percent number was based what agencies received this year and the increases they expect next year.
The governor proposes to give the state's public schools and community colleges $400 million less than they had anticipated for the remainder of this fiscal year. He also proposes cutting $4.4 billion in anticipated school spending for the fiscal year that begins in July.
Of the total $400 million in public education reductions this year, the state's 72 community college systems will come away relatively unscathed with just $40 million in cuts.
"Forty million is a lot of money, but in the big picture, that's budgetary dust," Austin said.
Austin characterized Schwarzenegger's plan as a "political shot across the bow."
"The one thing I believe about that proposed budget is that it won't be the budget we'll see in October," Austin said.
Austin said the state's fiscal woes bear a silver lining. The California State University system announced last week that it will raise fees and restrict enrollment.
"The worse the economy gets, the more people come back to community college to get retraining," Austin said. "Maybe they've been laid off or their hours have been cut -- so this gives them the opportunity to come back to school. Anything that sends more students our way makes us happy."
-- Contact Philip K. Ireland at (760) 901-4043 or online at pireland@nctimes.com.
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It's Taxpayers Money wrote on Jan 22, 2008 9:40 AM:While Mr Austin characterizes 40 million as budgetary dust when spread across 100 community colleges, he should remember he signed the checks wasting 4 million dollars at MiraCosta alone. One million to Shinoff and Price for the flawed palm tree investigation; 1.5 million to ex-President Richart to force her to resign; one-half million to ex-VP Hatoff to keep her silent; and hundreds of thousands of lawyers fees that are still accruing. All of this coming out of our yearly property tax assessments. Let's insist on financial accountability at MiraCosta.
jvc wrote on Jan 22, 2008 10:10 AM:"budgetary dust"????? Of course he's not concerned, his fat paycheck is safe, and the rich kids will still be able to attend. Who wants to deal with those pesky at risk students anyway. This administration and board are so removed from reality it is sickening.
Stephen wrote on Jan 22, 2008 3:30 PM:We seem to have forgotten about the people among us that don't have any parents. The residents of San Pasqual Academy want to be challenged.
Curtis wrote on Jan 22, 2008 5:49 PM:I find it sad that this junior college that so wastes the taxpayers money does not have to cut the lazy teachers and administrators salaries. We should storm the next board meeting and demand accountablitiy!!!
To Curtis wrote on Jan 22, 2008 6:49 PM:You seem to confuse our K-12 system with our Community College System. although you may well be correct about lazy administrators, which exist as sponges in both systems. However, when it comes to teaching, our Community College Lectureres and Professors are doing a wonderful job of taking the products of our K-12 system and preparing them for both the workplace and University. In fact, a transfer student from a Community College has close to an 80% gradution rate from a 4-yera University, whereas we typically see close to 60% dropout rates for High School grad who go directly to a 4-year University. By the way, those students who are typically heading off to the Community cCollege are not the TOP of the High School class either! I wouldn't call these teachers lazy!
MCC Teachers are the best! wrote on Jan 23, 2008 12:07 AM:I have attend many different schools and MiraCosta's faculty are among the best.
Administration is the problem wrote on Jan 23, 2008 5:33 AM:The Admin is the problem at MCC, NOT the Faculty! We could save a couple MILLION $$$ by simply cutting 10% of the Admin (top and middle). But, as you cut Faculty you loose students, which then equates to a loss of state budget funds.
How about asking wrote on Jan 23, 2008 10:37 PM:the Local Indian Tribes to donate some of their big earnings from the casinos to cover any losses resulting from state budet cuts. I'm sure you could sell them some palm trees or maybe naming rights on the various building around campus! Besides, education is a gamble anyway, right?
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