Veterans Fear Cuts of College Programs

Military veterans enrolled at Mission College say their educational opportunities will be severely impacted if veterans programs are cut to make up a $2-million shortfall in the school’s operating budget.

About 10 veterans and veterans’ advocates aired their concerns Wednesday at an hourlong meeting with college President William Norlund and Benny Scott, dean of academic affairs.

At the end of the session, Norlund told the group that he is open to hearing options that would streamline the veterans program to avoid eliminating it altogether.

“I am willing to look at alternatives to the proposed cuts,” Norlund said. He added that those options could include working with veterans programs at other schools within the Los Angeles Community College District or working with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The veterans are fighting to save the Veterans Certification Program, a counseling service that advises veterans on how to apply for military benefits to pay for their education, how to receive college credit for prior military service and how to apply for dependents’ benefit programs, said Marine Sgt. Larry Patino, a Mission College graduate and counselor with the veterans program.

The counseling program serves as an important link between the college and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, Patino said, because counselors are knowledgeable about both institutions.

“Military personnel are a different breed,” Patino said. “They come into the office with an attitude that you owe them something. I am in the military and I know how to deal with it where someone else might not.”

About 200 veterans are enrolled at the college, Patino said, and 60 to 70 receive military benefits.

The Veterans Certification Program is among several academic, athletic and extracurricular programs being considered for elimination as the college attempts to shave $2 million from its $11-million operating budget for the coming academic year.

A campus committee made up of administrators, faculty and support staff will make its final decision next week on which programs and classes will be eliminated when school resumes in August.