> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Santa Monica College finances may worsen - URL: https://www.smdp.com/santa-monica-college-finances-may-worsen/ - Published: 2003-07-25T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T02:38:58.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Funding to community colleges will dry up until state budget is passed* While lawmakers in Sacramento appear to be reaching a consensus on the state budget, officials on Thursday said the delay has already hurt Santa Monica College’s finances. State Controller Steve Westly said during a press conference that he is forbidden by law from giving any more money to community colleges until a final budget is signed by Gov. Gray Davis. And that could still be weeks off, said Tom Donner, SMC’s executive vice president of business and administration. If the proposed budget passes the Senate, it still must be approved by the Assembly before going on to Davis’ office, where it is typically reviewed by accountants for a week or more. In the meantime, community colleges have to operate without state funding. The next round of monthly checks, worth more than $200 NO COVER million, was scheduled to be mailed to California’s 108 community colleges next Tuesday. State money accounts for about 50 percent of SMC’s $125 million budget and 40 percent of community college funding throughout California. Once a final budget is adopted, Westly can distribute funding immediately. But for SMC, which operates with only a 2 percent reserve fund, any delay could dampen school offerings. SMC officials said the lack of a budget decision has left students in a difficult predicament. Financial aid and grants are being delayed, forcing some students to wait to enroll. Students don’t know how much the $11 per-credit fee will be increased and are bracing for as much as a $7 hike. The bottom line is classes are filling up and graduation for some students may be pushed back as long as 18 months, said Dr. Piedad Robertson, SMC’s president. “For students, it’s total chaos right now,” she said, adding that the school may be forced to operate with only partial staffing until legislators can agree on a budget. Melvon George, 24, the SMC board of trustees student representative, agrees. “If you can’t get counseling, you can’t plan your future,” said George, a Santa Monica High School graduate who is studying journalism. “If you’re stuck in line all day, you can’t get to class. > “Things could get better. We could have a $7 million deficit.” — — DR. PIEDAD ROBERTSON President, Santa Monica College “Just being in limbo is the worst part of being a student right now,” he added. “Because you don’t know.” Westly characterized the current effort to recall Davis as political drama that is detracting from the budget discussions. He said he wants legislators to pass a budget quickly so the state can continue to function and go right to work on next year’s estimated $8 billion deficit. Students should contact their elected officials and make their voices heard, said Westly, adding that during the last election there was a record-low turnout among young people and students. “Now that people are getting kicked, students are at the top of the list and that’s a shame,” he told a group of more than 100 students, faculty and administrators gathered Thursday at SMC. Representatives from nine other southern California community colleges also attended the event. One of the reasons community colleges don’t receive funding during a budget stalemate but K-12 schools do is because of the intense lobbying efforts by parents, said Herb Roney, chairman of SMC’s board of trustees. Roney said the state’s junior colleges have not done a good enough job of advocating their needs in Sacramento. Regardless of the state’s financial crisis, SMC officials said they must adopt a formal budget for the school in September, most likely at the board’s Sept. 1 meeting. In May, the board of trustees voted to cut six academic programs: architecture, geographic information services, public safety, recreation, tourism and hospitality and transportation technology. The move, which is estimated to save SMC more than $1 million, took jobs from eight full-time faculty and dozens of part-time instructors and left more than 500 students without a major course of study. Robertson said those programs will not be brought back. She said the school still faces an estimated deficit of $9.5 million, based on the revised budget which was issued in May. “Things could get better,” Robertson said. “We could have a $7 million deficit.” Whatever the final number ends up being, officials said more jobs will almost certainly be on the line because as much as 85 percent of SMC’s budget is spent on salaries and benefits. The deadline for terminating full-time faculty passed in March, which means the school’s classified workers may bear the brunt of any further layoffs. Robertson said the board is also looking at potential savings through revamping the school’s medical plan, instituting a 4 percent pay cut across the board, offering further retirement incentives and doing whatever else it takes to meet the school’s budget. “The only thing we have left to do is cut classes,” Robertson said. “Which I hate to do because it affects students.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 25, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/072503.pdf?ref=smdp.com)