OPINION
FEATURES
SPORTS
Public broadcasting system is
something worth saving.
Page 2
Will Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke find true
love with each other “before sunrise?”
Page 5
Women’s basketball team loses
to Long Beach and Cerritos;
now 2-6 in SCC play, 10-11
overa" Page 6
PASADENA CITY COLLEGE
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
VOL. 80 No. 16
THE
COURIER
Serving the Pasadena Community since 1915
THURSDAY
February 2, 1995
Money woes still plague community colleges
Broken Promises
Even though tuition fees have more than doubled in the last
three years, funding for California community colleges has
decreased. As a result, 14,000 fewer courses are now offered and
140,000 students either left or couldn’t be served by the system.
^ Unserved students 140,000
Sources: The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and The California Higher Education Policy Center.
□ Despite the fact that
the number of students
who wish to enroll in
community colleges
continues to rise, the
college still does not
have enough money
By DENIS WANG
COURIER STAFF WRITER
The California Higher Education
Policy Center recently revealed that
insufficient funds have eliminated
225 classes at PCC since 1991, which
kept approximately 5,000 students
from enrolling last year. The report,
released last month under the title
"Broken Promises,” mainly high¬
lighted the impact of increasing col¬
lege fees on low-income students
and explained the detrimental con¬
sequences of budget cuts.
According to the findings, stu¬
dents have found that access to PCC
hasbecome increasingly difficult due
to rising state-imposed fees and a
shrinking state-financed budget.
Although the district’s budget did
not change much in the last three
years, the college lost six percent of
its enrollment in 1993. Half of the
loss resulted from a lack of funding.
Students frequently sign up on
waiting lists for classes, which can¬
not accommodate all the people who
need them for transfer. The report
indicated that the college could eas¬
ily enroll many more students if it
had the money to provide the courses.
It added that PCC chose to reduce
course sections to the number the
state would pay for. The cutbacks
proved necessary after the college
spent$5.5 millionin 1991 to educate
1,831 students above the state en¬
rollment cap. The state never reim¬
bursed the school. PCC’s full time
cap is approximately $7,000. Cur¬
rently, the college has 23,000 full
and part time students enrolled.
Dr. Jack Scott, PCC president,
said, “If the state wanted us to offer
more sections, it would give us more
money. I think it is sending us a
pretty strong signal.”
In addition to the financial strain,
the cost of employee medical ben¬
efits soared 15 percent and the cost
of goods purchased by the school
rose with inflation, the report said.
Although the college currently
maintains the quality of its instruc¬
tional program, Scott added that PCC
hesitates to take in more students
without more funding for fear of
losing quality.
Other data in Broken Promises
showed the enrollment in commu¬
nity colleges declined by 10 percent
in two years, cutting out approxi¬
mately 155,600 students from more
than 1.5 million in 1991. Most of
those students could not afford the
higher fees for their education or
were turned away because of can¬
celed classes. Furthermore, com¬
munity colleges received an increase
of only $14 million or 0.5 percent in
operational funds in the past four
years. As the state’s consumer price
index climbed about 9 percent, cam¬
puses needed to trim classes and
terminate other spending to main¬
tain budgets.
Instead of a two percent increase
contained in the state budget for the
1993 - 1994 academic year, colleges
suffered a 0. 5 percent cut after prop¬
erty tax revenues plunged by $120
million. This in turn required an
additional reduction in spending and
dislodged 2,800 part-time faculty as
budget reserves diminished.
Now the 106 community colleges
in California stand underfunded by
at least $300 million. The report also
emphasized the multitude of stu¬
dents no longer attending commu¬
nity colleges because of the fees,
which have more than doubled in
three years. Even with the hikes,
California community colleges have
the lowest tuition nationwide.
Jack McCurdy, a former educa¬
tion reporter with the Los Angeles
Times, compiled Broken Promises
for the Center in a 3 1 -page brochure.
He wrote that higher fees and lack of
adequate state financial support pre¬
vented community colleges from
satisfying California’s 1960 Master
Plan for Higher Education.
This plan originally made the
Please see “MONEY Page 3
□ Gov. Pete Wilson
proposes another
tuition fee hike in hi$
1995-1996 state budget
for community colleges
By DANNY TAM
COURIER STAFF WRITER
Gov. Pete Wilson has proposed
an increase of $ 1 82 million for com¬
munity colleges in his 1995-96 State
budget, submitted to the legislature
on Jan. 10, along with another stu¬
dent tuition fee increase from $13 to
$15 per unit.
The budget proposal includes
$55.2 million for a Cost of Living
Adjustment (COLA), $47 million
for revenue shortfalls, $35.2 million
for financial aid, $24.7 million for
growth enrollment and $6 million
for educational materials. In addi¬
tion, $3.9 billion is expected to be
the total amount of funding provided
for California’s community colleges
for 1995-96.
The possibility of a budget in¬
crease is welcome news to the finan¬
cially strangled community colleges,
but PCC President Dr. Jack Scott
confirms that, “This is only the
Governor’s proposed budget. Re¬
member, this is not a budget that is
guaranteed until it goes through the
legislature.” The state legislature
will decide on July 1 .
The extra $182 million would be
shared among the state’s 106 com¬
munity colleges. “It’s not a terribly
generous budget, but it’s never the
less better. It’s an improvement,"
said Scott.
Community colleges have only
received a 0.5 percent budget in¬
crease in the past four years despite
the Consumer Price Index climbing
9 percent during the same period.
Community colleges also lost money
in 1994-95 when the state did not
provide $25 million in property taxes.
PCC lost $71 1,700 in property taxes
revenue.
The proposed unit increase of $2
might compensate for these type of
losses, but it may drive away stu¬
dents. "It adds up to a lot of money,”
said PCC student Rebecca Pattan.
“It’s getting harder and harder to
find the money to pay for tuition.”
However, not all PCC students
expect to feel the impact if the pro¬
posal goes through. “The price of
everything goes up. It’s just a matter
of when,” said Bryan Banta , an
optimistic PCC student.
The money used for the recently
constructed parking lot and library
could not have been used for increas¬
ing class sections. The parking lot is
being funded through an increase in
parking permits. The new library
was financed through a construction
grant provided by the State.
PCC has been responsive to the
State's lack of support by reducing
its staff through retirements and res¬
ignations. It has also effectively cut¬
back on the use of utilities. PCC has
$5.9 million in reserve in case of
revenue shortfalls.
The proposed budget is a hopeful
sign but not a turning point reminds
Scott, “There is a pretty good chance
that maybe we can keep this, but
frankly we’ve got to push for it.”
SELFA SMITHART/THE COURIER
ERWIN GOLDBERG/THE COURIER
Л
щ
-4- №
Scaring evil spirits
away on new year
A monstrous dragon lured away any
evil spirits lurking on the campus grounds
last Tuesday. The dragon gyrated and
undulated in the Quad as part of the
college’s celebration of the Chinese New
Year. The event was sponsored by ASIA,
the Asian Students Inter-Club Alliance.
In China, dragons are paraded through
the streets and firecrackers are let off to
frighten evil spirits away.
In Chinese mythology, the dragon
personifies prosperity and peace, and
the benign powers of nature, producing
rain and lush harvests.
ERWIN GOLDBERG/THE COURIER