WOODLAND HILLS : College Panel Urges Industrial Arts Cuts

A Pierce College planning committee voted Wednesday to recommend eliminating four industrial arts programs, citing low enrollment and the possibility the school would lose state grants if the programs are continued.

The plan to eliminate the welding, woodworking, machine shop and metallurgy programs will go before the Pierce College Council for a vote March 21. College President Mary Lee has the final say.

Lee said that despite what some people think, the committee’s decision was not based entirely on economics. It is really a philosophical question about the the school’s mission, she said.

“This is a management-driven question, not a budget question,” she said. “It’s about curriculum. This is something that has been (studied) for two years.”

But students and teachers in the four programs were critical of the plan, saying the courses are useful to the community because they provide job training.

Cory Fulton, a student, who is also on the Planning Committee, said the panel’s recommendation went too far.

“If there are problems with the programs, they could be cut or trimmed or whatever,” he said. “But as far as unilaterally cutting anything, I’m against it.”

Studies show that many students enrolled in the industrial arts programs aren’t enrolled in academic courses, school officials say. Those students could take the same classes at local trade schools, freeing up precious fiscal resources for Pierce College’s more traditional academic programs, proponents of the plan say.

Meanwhile, school officials have promised to work to ensure that no teachers in the programs will lose their jobs. Some will be reassigned, and some could take advantage of an early retirement program if they are eligible, officials said.

The programs probably would be gradually phased out, so that students already enrolled in programs would be able to finish, officials said.

The committee, in determining what programs to cut, used a formula that compares enrollment to how much certain buildings are used, college officials said. They noted that state uses the same formula in awarding grants. In general, the school’s shop classes have large buildings with few students.

Bart Trinchero, chairman of the Industrial Technology Department, made a last-ditch effort to persuade the committee to vote against the cuts. He disputed the district’s claim that the job market is poor for the trades taught in the program. And he noted that the school’s nursing program has been continued despite a nearly saturated job market.

Fulton and other critics of the plan also scoffed at using square-footage formulas. Lee said other factors have been taken into account, such as teachers’ salaries and other costs.

The committee, school officials say, never raised the idea of making cuts in Pierce College’s farm. Some argue that program has low enrollment and is a drain on the school’s academic programs. But officials say it is a valuable community resource that must be preserved.