VALLEY COLLEGE : Budget Cuts Erase 200 Classes
More than 200 classes have been canceled this semester at Los Angeles Valley College because of budget cuts, placing both teachers and students in a bind.
Shortages of teachers and equipment are common. Teachers are accepting more students, causing classroom crowding. Students often arrive well ahead of class in order to find a place to sit.
“I come at least an hour early, so I won’t have to sit on the floor,” said Avi Obligenarz, a journalism major.
Many students cannot take all the classes they need or want, college administrators said.
“They might not be able to take a class because it has been canceled or there are no classes to add because they are completely full,” business major Bret Alto said.
With more than $1.8 million cut from this year’s budget, all departments on the Van Nuys campus have been affected, college officials said.
“Some projects that students have are hard to instigate and accomplish,” said Glen Hisayasu, dean of student affairs. “The whole campus operates from certain contracts that deal with money.”
Another 186 classes are expected to be dropped for the spring semester, Hisayasu said.
The cuts were divided between the two semesters, with more classes being dropped in the fall because more courses are offered then.
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