Gary Moskowitz
Henan Joof, a 21-year-old student at Glendale Community College,
is upset he and other students will probably have fewer classes and
services in the near future, but would still have to pay more money.
Joof is among a group of 14 students, faculty, administrators and
trustees from Glendale Community College who participated Monday in
Community College League Day in Sacramento.
The purpose of the day was to encourage California community
college representatives from around Los Angeles County to go to
Sacramento to voice their concerns to Assembly members and state
senators about proposed state budget cuts to education.
Joof is upset, and he wants legislators to listen.
"We have students who will be left behind here, and that does not
make any sense," said Joof, the vice-president of administration for
the college's student government. "For students just walking into
this school, there will be less people available for things like
assessment tests and counseling. I don't think it's fair, and my job
as a student representative is to tell them we are not sleeping."
Joof's concerns are rooted in more than $1 million in cuts GCC has
to make in response to the governor's state budget proposal.
The college has already cut 52 classes from its upcoming spring
semester, reduced library spending and library hours and faces a 43%
cut to disabled-student services and the Extended Opportunities
Program, which assists students most in need of financial assistance.
The college might have to raise tuition from $11 to $24 but would
not see any of the additional revenue, college spokeswoman Ann
Ransford said.
The state funding of $3,476 for full-time equivalent students
would be reduced to $3,179 over an 18-month period, which would
result in about $5 million less in the college's operating budget,
Ransford said.
"We educate the most [students] for the least [amount of money],"
college President John Davitt said. "There will be more students
coming here because it is still much cheaper than the [four-year
universities], but we will not have enough classes."
The group of students, faculty, administrators and board members
visited Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Glendale), Assemblywoman Carol
Liu (D-La Crescenta) and several other Assembly members and state
senators.
