0920_September Comstock's Magazine September 2020 | Page 38

EDUCATION
“(The increase in community college enrollment)
partly reflects students at four-year colleges and
universities who are not sure whether they’ll have
a residential experience in the fall and recognizing
that if it’s going to be an online experience, the value
of community college courses is very high.”
BRIAN KING
CHANCELLOR, LOS RIOS
COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
significantly in California Gov. Gavin
Newsom’s revised 2020-21 state budget.
In January, more than $18 billion was
earmarked for colleges and universities
when the state had a comfortable surplus.
That changed when the pandemic
battered the economy and created a
projected $54.3 billion shortfall. The
revised budget in May looked very
different, including deep cuts in higher
education funding from current levels,
pulling $1 billion from community
colleges, $376 million from UC and $404
million from CSU.
King expected at least a 10 percent
cut in the district’s budget from the
previous year and was planning accordingly.
He says roughly 90 percent of Los
Rios’ operating budget comes from the
state, so any cut in state funds is significant.
“Our planning parameter was to
be proactive, and if additional revenues
came, we’d be able to spend those very
effectively,” he says. Duncan was planning
for similar cuts at Sierra College.
“We normally run cyclical in opposition
to the economy,” he says. “When the
economy is bad, everybody wants to
go back to school, and that’s when we
often experience cuts. Our goal is to
do our best to try to accommodate the
students that come our way.”
In Newsom’s final budget — which
took effect July 1 — spending for community
colleges was preserved at current
levels, though much of the funds
will be deferred until the next fiscal
year, a tactic that was last used during
the Great Recession. “We can work with
that,” says Duncan. “A deferral is easier
than a cut because the money is still
coming, just later. But it also puts a little
pressure on us to manage cash flow.”
The UC and CSU budget cuts will only
be offset if federal funds are approved.
Despite the shift to remote teaching,
neither community college administrator
expects online learning to supplant
face-to-face instruction. “It’s a great
supplement. It helps people with their
schedules, and some people learn better
that way, or at least can meet the course
objectives that way, but it by no means is
going to replace face-to-face,” says Duncan.
King concurs: “There are just some
courses that can’t be converted to online,
things like nursing simulation labs and
automotive and welding labs; they don’t
work the same when taught remotely.”
Students like Graf are counting on
that. He tested the online format with an
elementary statistics class he took over
the summer at Sierra College and says
he misses the in-person interactions.
“Online classes are difficult because you
don’t get that same connection with the
teachers and your classmates,” he says.
“It’s been a challenge, for sure.” But he’s
happy to save a little money this year
and get some of his general education
requirements out of the way, with an eye
on attending UC Riverside next fall. “By
then, hopefully everything will be back
to normal,” he says.
Laurie Lauletta-Boshart has written for
Dwell, ESPN, The Wall Street Journal,
Sports Illustrated and others. Online at
www.wordplaycommunications.com and
on Twitter @laurieboshart.
38 comstocksmag.com | September 2020