Barstow college faces mid-year budget cuts

BARSTOW • Amid drastic state cutbacks to public education, Barstow Community College has remained relatively unscathed — until now.

BCC officials said Wednesday that state funding cuts will force the college to possibly scale back summer session classes, raise student fees and even layoff staff.

According to BCC President Dr. Thom Armstrong, the state dealt a mid-year cut of $492,000 at a time when the college’s student enrollment has jumped 35 percent compared to the spring of 2009. Armstrong and three board members recently attended a conference in Sacramento on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget.

As a cosmetology student, Veronica Alaniz would be one of the students directly affected if summer sessions were cut back. Vocational programs at BCC like cosmetology build summer vacation into their schedules, according to Armstrong.

“It creates a gap and it slows them down in achieving their certificate,” he said.

For 18-year-old Alaniz, finishing her cosmetology courses is a matter of timing, because students must next take a two-day-long state board exam to become a certified beautician.

“It will take more time than we planned for it to be,” she said.

Ariel Grenfell said she’s concerned about the increasing costs to students, especially since course fees rose from $20 to $26 in June.

“They just raised them,” said Grenfell. Student tuition fees are decided at the state level.

BCC officials predict that the college’s days of relative financial tranquility are waning.

“We’re not hurting as much as we can, but we could in the future,” said Trustee Marcia Zableckis, who attended the budget conference.

Armstrong noted that more cuts are in store for the future because Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget hinges on the state requesting $6.9 billion in federal aid.

“That’s kind of a rosy budget assumption by the governor’s office,” Armstrong said.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4122 or elee@desertdispatch.com

BCC Board recap, Jan. 27, 2010

BARSTOW • The Barstow Community College Board of Trustees took action on the following items Wednesday:

• Raising non-resident tuition: The board unanimously approved increasing non-resident tuition to $183 per semester unit for the 2010-11 fiscal year. According to Trustee Tim Heiden, the increase matches BCC with the state average. Non-resident tuition was previously $178.

• Hiring new administrators: The board authorized the advertising and hiring to begin for the positions of vice president of administrative services and director of human resources, previously held by Curt Mitchell and Mike Murrey, respectively.

• Granting tenure: Faculty members Kyri Freeman, a librarian, and Dr. Robert Stinson, biology instructor, were unanimously granted tenure as full-time faculty.