COUNTYWIDE : College Trustees to Discuss Budget Cuts

The Ventura County Community College District board tonight will consider a $64.1-million budget that reflects cuts of $4.6 million for the coming year, forced by reductions in state funding.

The budget reflects cutbacks that district officials recommended earlier this year to offset expected shortages in state funding. The recommendations include dropping some classes at the three campuses, which could affect 20 to 50 part-time instructors, and not filling some staff positions.

Board President Tim Hirschberg and Trustee Gregory Cole said state funding shortages could get bigger, requiring more cuts. They also contended that the budget reserve from the current fiscal year, $1.4 million, is far too low to be relied on for expected expenses.

Hirschberg also questioned why Moorpark College’s travel and conference expenses for the 1991-1992 year are budgeted at $88,550--more than twice that of either Ventura or Oxnard colleges.

Moorpark College President Stan Bowers said the amount is routinely higher than the other two colleges because it includes student travel for athletic and speech events.

Before tonight’s meeting, the board is expected to hold a closed session to discuss a report concluding that money was improperly channeled from Moorpark College to its foundation, Hirschberg said.

Trustees had asked the district’s legal counsel, Stuart Rudnick, to prepare the report after learning earlier this month that about $25,000 was juggled between the college and the foundation during 1989 and 1990. Board members say it appears that it was done to circumvent union contract provisions and state pension regulations.

Bowers and Lawrence Lloyd, vice president in charge of administrative services, have insisted that there was nothing improper about the transfer of funds, which they said had been approved by district officials.

The money was used to pay the salaries of two employees who administered a Moorpark College education and training program that offered courses tailored to the needs of employees of businesses in the east part of the county.

The report indicates that the payment of the salaries out of foundation money rather than college money violates pension and union requirements, Hirschberg said. “However, there is no hint of criminal misbehavior.”