First, let me say that in view of the bad economy and the challenging times we are bracing for, I am grateful to the governor and our federal and state elected representatives for minimizing the impact of the cuts to our community colleges. Rep. Adam Schiff, Sen. Carol Liu and Assemblymen Anthony Adams, Paul Krekorian and Anthony Portantino, who represent our college district, recognize that community colleges are a key for economic recovery. The California State Legislature gave our community colleges a high level of priority in the latest budget. The federal government included some important provisions for community colleges and our students in the stimulus bill: workforce investment board funding, Pell grant funding and the ability for community colleges to seek some funding for the tremendous unfunded growth in enrollment.
We have already made strides in cutting costs at Glendale Community College. At the end of last year, 45 members of the staff retired in response to an early retirement offer made as a cost-cutting initiative. Most of these positions will not be filled right away, as we have implemented a hiring freeze. Staff is embarking on an initiative to utilize as much of the campus as possible for instructional purposes. Administrative areas will be utilized at a higher rate in order to make space for additional classrooms wherever possible. Class schedules are continually being reviewed for optimization. We will continue to review all programs to assure that all costs that can be legally offset are identified and collected.
