Wednesday, July 22, 2009

"It breaks the heart"


For those looking for my usual report on the meeting of the SOCCCD board of trustees—well, I didn't attend the meeting. Had better things to do.

Meanwhile, big changes are unfolding state-wide:

THE PROPOSED CA BUDGET:

“State universities and local community colleges alike will take deep cuts under the state budget deal.” –So begins the OC Reg’s take on what the not-yet-approved state budget means for higher ed:

Higher education could lose $3 billion under budget deal
The deal includes $3 billion in reductions to higher education, to be allocated between the UC and CSU systems. This is on top of $813 million already being cut by UC.

Local community colleges–which follow a different budget schedule than the state or K-12 districts–have [been] cutting budgets, trimming back programs and digging into reserves in anticipation of this week's state budget deal.

Coast Community College District…has worked to keep cuts away from classrooms.

…The district does not anticipate employee furloughs or layoffs for 2009-10, but at the same time, a hiring freeze has been instituted.

No new instructors could spell trouble, as all community colleges in the state are bracing for the deluge of students who have been turned down by UC and CSU systems.

Nevertheless, the district will not be offering additional classes to accommodate the influx.

North Orange County Community College District used its reserves, in part, to manage the cuts that came in 2008-09.

But the district now faces sacrifices in its curriculum, and the district chancellor’s staff has been meeting weekly into the summer months to continue budget planning.

“We’ve reduced summer school session classes two-to-one,” [spokeswoman Christie] Noring said….

The proposed tuition hike is a point of concern. The district has already started fall registration, but once fees are raised, the district will have to call back students and collect the balance of fees.

Equally worrisome are the future of soft dollar “categorical programs,” such as matriculation counseling, equal opportunity, and special needs students. Funding for these directives depend on state budget earmarks.

“The programs that stand to lose the most are [those for] our most needy students.”

Scott Lay, president and CEO of the Community College League of California, said similar stories are playing out across the state.

While layoffs may not been happening, most community college districts will not be renewing the same course load, and therefore part-time instructors will be cut.

“Silent layoffs,” said Lay….

Lay sees one small victory amid the crisis. The state has promised to repay K-12 schools and community colleges $9.5 billion as the economy rebounds. Payments would likely begin in 2013 and community colleges would see about 11 percent of the money.

Lay says California’s community colleges are facing a roughly 12.5 percent cut while experiencing a 10 percent rise in enrollment.

“We have record high school graduation rates. We have veterans coming back. We have the redirected students from other university systems. We have the unemployed workforce looking to be retrained,” Lay said. “The demand is significant and real.”

According to the League’s projections earlier this year, a district like Coast would lose 9 percent or 7,062 students in 2009-10 due to state budget cuts.

“The students are pouring onto campuses demanding technical training and education, and it breaks the heart of these administrators to not be able to provide for them.”

Attila and Ildico, receiving a Christmas treat

THE VETS ARE COMING:

As Lay suggests, part of the dilemma facing community colleges (viz., that funding is reduced just as demand for education is sharply increasing) concerns the new GI Bill of Rights, which supports vets who seek to go to college. The law kicks in in two weeks.

In this morning’s Inside Higher Ed (Survey of Services for Veterans), Elizabeth Redden describes a report on preparedness of colleges for the expected influx of vets:
…A new report from a group of five higher education associations, "From Soldier to Student: Easing the Transition of Service Members on Campus," represents, the authors write, the first attempt to assess the current state of programs and services nationally.

A total of 723 institutions responded to the survey, out of 2,582, for a 28 percent response rate. … Among the findings, 57 percent of institutions said they currently provide programs and services specifically designed for service members or veterans. The report's conclusion notes a number of areas where colleges are meeting the needs of veterans, and also areas where they're not.

Where colleges are doing well, the report notes, is in recognizing prior military experience….

But colleges have much more work to do in the following areas, the report notes:

• Assisting in the transition to college….
• Offering
professional development to faculty and staff, on transition issues and issues specific to students with brain injuries and other disabilities.
• Easing the path to re-enrollment for service members once they return from deployments…
• Helping veterans connect with other veterans….

Attila the Pup (1975)

Pics: (1) as soon as I got my new lens, Annie ran out with it and took pictures of flowers--in the shade. "Sun is the photographer's friend," I intoned. Does she listen to me? She does not. So I just photoshopped the heck out of her dreary pic. I like the way only the leaf and the edge of some petals are in focus. (2) It's hard to explain the love everybody in my family had for these two wonderful dogs, Attila (male) and Ildico (female). I won't even try. They were extraordinarily sweet creatures. Here they are, in their old age, receiving some sort of treat, Xmas 1985. The always-dignified Ildy (at right), a spectacular athlete, was the smaller dog; by midlife she was hobbled by hip dysplasia. Even so, she was quietly dominant (her dominance is less quiet in this photo), and, despite her pain, she had a very long and good life. Atti (or "Billy"), at left, was fabulously loyal and good natured, a great protector. My wonderful pal. (3) Billy, 1975, the super-pup.

P.S.:

TigerAnn insisted on going outside again, so I took a coupla "posie" shots:

Way crazy, eh?

Too conventional? Guess so.
(This bougainvillaea flower is seriously small: maybe a sixth of an inch across. I think I spotted Raquel Welch wavin' at me from its center.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the picture of the hounds from hell.

Bohrstein said...

I like your "way crazy" flower. Reminds me of one of those simulated black holes they might create.

The white one (third picture) looks like a bunch of little elders meeting and talking to a big red guy.

Also, that picture of Attila 1975 is freakin' adorable.

wants his own pup now - or a tiny little critter kitten BS

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...