Countywide : College District Has Plan to Offset Cuts

To offset an expected $4.6-million budget deficit, community college officials plan to cut class offerings, forgo hiring an executive vice chancellor and have administrators teach classes.

Ventura County Community College District officials released the budget reduction plan Thursday. It will be considered by trustees at the district’s board meeting Tuesday.

Under the plan, no full-time employees would be laid off, said Tom Kimberling, vice chancellor for administrative services.

Classes cut from the schedule are being taught by part-time instructors, he said.

The plan calls for dropping 85 Ventura College classes, many of which would have been eliminated anyway because of low enrollment, he said. Oxnard College would drop 37 classes. At Moorpark College, summer school classes would be cut by 20%.

At Moorpark and Ventura colleges, deans and other management-level employees would add teaching to their duties.

Kimberling estimated that 20 to 50 part-time instructors would see their classes dropped, if the trustees approve the plan. Part-time instructors are limited to teaching three classes.

The trustees asked administrators at the colleges to come up with possible cuts because they expect a $4.6-million shortfall in state funds for the coming fiscal year. Gov. Pete Wilson predicted earlier this year that the statewide deficit is expected to be $7 billion to $10 billion.

Kimberling said the biggest cuts would be achieved by leaving vacant positions unfilled. Just by closing down the executive vice chancellor’s office, the district will save $160,000, including a salary of $87,357.