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By Stephen Keller·
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Palomar College's governing board told the counseling department that it may be losing five positions this May. About 30 faculty members showed up to the board's March 12 meeting to protest the decision, which was made in response to budget cuts by Gov. Gray Davis. "If the district cannot support its faculty, it cannot support its students, either," said Mary-Ann Drinan, copresident of the faculty uniOn. Drinan, said that when faculty members are laid off, "the academic environment is diminished and campus life suffers." "Palomar has always considered laying off faculty as a last resort," said Faculty Senate President Christine Barkley. Barkley said that while the Faculty Senate has taken no official stance on the situation, they have made stamps and envelopes available for faculty members who wish to write the state government about the budget cuts. Palomar President Sherrill Amador said the actions of the board did not mean any positions were going to be cut. The board is considering cutting some positions to meet budget cuts currently under consideration by the state. Amador said the education code requires the district to give notice of potential cuts by March 15. "If you don't give them notice, you have no way to cut the budget if you have to," Amador said. In the governor's proposed 2002-2003 budget, he cut about $27 million in matriculation funding from the California Community College budget. Until the revised budget is announced in May, the board is not certain exactly what cuts will have to be made, Amador said.
As California's colleges and universities ready themselves for an influx of 7 million additional students before 2010, state lawmakers appear to show no sign of preparation for the future. Palomar officials have confronted state legislators and the governor about the expected enrollment increase and the school's budget. "There is still nothing that we can see that either the governor or legislators are doing to think ahead to compensate," said Jerry Patton, Palomar vice president of fiscal services. As part of what is known as Tidal Wave II, an expected 36 percent growth rate will hit
California's colleges and univers1·t·1es over t h e next d ecad e, according to the California Postsecondary Education Commission. California currently accommodates more than 1.5 million full-time students in the commuriity college system, about 380,000 in the California S t a t e University system and 183,000 in the University of California system. Last year, Gov. Gray Davis cut approximately $123 million out of the community college budget, with most of the cuts coming from $98 million set aside for instructional materials and routine maintenance. Davis presented his 20022003 proposed state budget on Jan. 10, which identifies a
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statewide budget shortfall of $12.5 billion, making it more difficult to increase funding for higher education. The proposed budget will institute cuts in five major areas for the community college system in California next year. "When you put all the pluses and minuses together, it (Palomar's cuts) is about a 1. 7
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percent cut," said Palomar College President Sherrill Amador. The governor's office plans the education budget on a year-toyear basis, and does not have a financial plan in place to accommodate growth. "In any year, much of the 111 SEE
BUDGETS. PACE 3
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Artist Diane Breitwieser-Stacey displays her paintings March 7 at an exhibit called "Spin the Dreamer Free." The exhibit features a number of media, including large canvas, ceramics, oil paintings, etchings and Tabasco sauce. BreitwieserStacey said she once accidentally spilled hot sauce on a painting, and liked the effect so much she began intentionally using it. The exhibit has her work from the 1980s to the present and runs through March 23 at the Boehm Gallery.
Community colleges will not be receiving money from the statewide Partnership for Excellence program in the 2002-2003 school year. "We didn't get more money because of the budget crunch," said Christine Barkley, cochairwoman of the PFE task force. The program, instituted by Governor Gray Davis in 1998, originally agreed to give $100 million a year to community colleges. The program was created to bolster student performance in transfers to four-year universities, completions of degrees and certificates, successful course completion, workforce training and basic skills improvement. PFE looks for improvement in these five areas for community colleges statewide. The colleges were asked to reach set goals by 2006. Each school district contributes to reaching these state goals. The Palomar district instituted a task force to designate where the funds would go to help it reach the goals. • SEE GOALS, PACE 2
OUR OSCAR PREDICTIONS Who will win those little golden s1111ues next week? Find out inside.
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