NORTH HOLLYWOOD : 70 More Classes Cut From Fall Schedule

Valley College administrators have cut 70 more classes from the fall schedule, frozen hiring and reduced by 50% funds for student employment, officials said Wednesday.

The goal is to save $1.8 million to balance the proposed 1993-94 budget, officials said.

The cuts mean 9.5% fewer classes in the fall and 16% fewer classes next spring.

In addition, 14 temporary teaching positions for next year have been eliminated, along with three college counselor positions.

The savings amount to about $848,300, college officials said. About $100,000 can be saved by halving college-funded student employment and remaining cuts will come from previously planned class reductions, cuts in the child-care center and the disabled student services program and other programs.

College President Mary E. Lee, who could not identify which classes would be cut from the catalogues, promised to try to keep classes in high demand among the students.

The school, part of the Los Angeles Community College System, operates on a current $21-million budget. That compares to $23 million two years ago.

Student leaders, already angered by a proposed fee hike from $10 to $30 per unit for next year, were not pleased with the news. They blamed the state for its lack of educational funding, not administration officials.

“I think it’s really out of their hands,” said Ben Padua, vice president of the Associated Students Union. “Because the state is forcing them to do this.”