By Daily Press staff
Santa Monica College will hold a press conference on Thursday at 10:30 a.m., detailing how the lack of a state budget impacts community colleges and their students.
Students will be on hand to discuss how the budget situation impacts their lives and academic planning.
The press conference will be held on the SMC campus, outside of the northwest end of the science building. Parking will be available in Lot #1, entering from Pico Boulevard.
SMC has been embroiled in a contentious internal battle over its $9.5 million budget deficit since March.
Faculty and service workers at the college agreed overwhelmingly last month in a vote of no confidence in SMC President Piedad Robertson and called upon the school’s board of trustees to change the way it plugs next year’s deficit.
The trustees responded by giving Robertson a unanimous vote of confidence in a closed session at their July 7 meeting.
Though the votes carry no legal weight, faculty said they hoped to send a message that the administration’s plan to drop six academic programs from next year’s roster is unacceptable. The eliminated departments are architecture, geographic information services, public safety, recreation, tourism and hospitality, and transportation technology.
Eight full-time teachers and about 30 part-time instructors will lose their jobs because of the cuts, which will leave more than 500 students without a major and save the school roughly $1.2 million.
The faculty and staff asked that administration consider plugging the deficit by instituting across-the-board course reductions, wage concessions, early retirement incentives, reduction in operating hours and some other changes. Board members have expressed dismay over the cuts, but insisted that it is the only concrete way to plug the deficit.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 23, 2003. Read the original PDF.