EAST LOS ANGELES : Students Protest Plan to Divert Funding

About 50 East Los Angeles College students protested Wednesday a proposal to take part of the state money that would normally go to the college because of increased enrollment and divide it among the other eight colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District.

The district’s Board of Trustees, which met Wednesday in a regular meeting, decided to postpone a decision and discuss it more at its April 19 meeting.

East L.A. College, which has about 9,800 full-time students, was the only college in the district to increase its student population this school year. Enrollment went up 8%; all the other campuses lost students--Los Angeles Valley College, for instance, was down 7%, with some of the loss attributable to the Northridge earthquake.

Because the state bases its funding on enrollment, East L.A. College stood to gain an additional $2 million beyond its current budget of $19.4 million for the 1995-96 school year. But the rest of the colleges would stand to see their budgets fall, which some on the board said would be detrimental to the entire system.

A committee formed by the board suggested that East L.A.’s gains be shared with the other campuses. A separate recommendation by the District Chancellor Neil Yoneji would borrow $1 million from East L.A. to share among the remaining colleges and pay it back over the next three years, possibly through increased revenues from summer enrollment or through other avenues the district might have to stabilize campus finances.

. Students at the college, however, say they are entitled to the full allocation--but agree with the chancellor that loaning some to the other campuses is a good idea as long as problems of class crowding and long waiting lists for enrollment are taken care of at East L.A.

Under the chancellor’s plan, East L.A. would receive a 4.9% increase in its budget; under the committee’s recommendation, the college would receive a 3.7% increase.

The protesters complained about poor conditions of their classrooms and the demands on teachers who often work on their own time to help students. The minimum classroom size has been increased from 32 to 42 students. Many students become discouraged, they said, and eventually drop out.

“Morale on our campus is at a very low level and I think (it is) because of this debate,” said Gerardo Pinedo, 19, president of the Associated Students Organization. “We’re not saying, ‘Forget the other students,’ we’re saying, ‘Help the other students,’ and we’re willing to do that.”

Other college presidents voiced approval of the committee’s plan, pointing out that at different points during the district’s 25-year history, all the colleges, including East L.A., have had to be subsidized by the other campuses.

Acting East L.A. College President Ernie Moreno backed the chancellor’s plan at the meeting.

“We’re not asking for the additional $2 million that we’re entitled to,” Moreno said. “If we’re going to do anything about competing as a district (for more state funding), the dollars must be diverted to those institutions that do a better job.”

Los Angeles Valley College President Tyree Wieder told the board that regardless of its decision this time around, the district has to start increasing its revenue from other sources, such as grants. Enrollment at Valley College, she said, was hurt by last year’s earthquake, which left virtual ghost towns in some neighborhoods.