FC campus continues cutting student classes

A sharp reduction in class offerings that left students scrambling to fill their fall schedules has prompted questions about whether the cuts were fair or even necessary.

There were 219 fewer class sections this semester compared to last fall. That's a campus-wide drop of 10 percent, but some departments were cut significantly more than others. Physical education sections were cut by 20 percent.

At their meeting on Oct. 1, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution calling for greater
faculty involvement in campus decision-making.

Marcus Wilson, Faculty Senate President said, "Some of the faculty are very upset that some areas, like physical education, are experiencing severe cuts and other areas, like basic skills, are receiving virtually no cuts."

Larry Buckley, vice president of instruction, led the effort to cut instructional costs at Fullerton in a time of tight deadlines and legislative turmoil.

"The California Community College League was sending updates on budget negotiations on a daily basis," Buckley said, "and they even developed a Twitter account so you could go to them three and four times a day."

At one point the legislature considered a plan to reduce funding for recreational PE classes like backpacking and rock-climbing. In the end, they left the decision about what to cut to the colleges. However, the System Office, which disburses state funds to community college districts, recommended that basic skills classes and career and technical classes be spared as much as possible.

Some districts took their lead from the legislature and concentrated their cuts in physical education, but Fullerton tried to take a middle course. Buckley, in consultation with the deans, spread cuts across all departments, while keeping the state priorities in mind. 

The result was that some departments' classes were largely preserved, while other departments suffered deeper reductions. It was then left to each department to determine how to meet the departmental goal.

The reduction in physical education includes classes like swimming and dance, as well as so-called recreational classes. Pete Snyder, dean of physical education, said the cuts make it difficult for PE majors to schedule the classes they need.

"If something's not offered,"Snyder said, "they're back to square one or not even on square one."

But it's not only the PE majors who concern Snyder. He sees community colleges as an opportunity to promote an active lifestyle because they reach a uniquely diverse student population.

"Our state spends $200 billion on health care," he said. "One way or another we're going to pay for what we're doing to our bodies. We can pay for it at the far end with healthcare costs or we can do it in a more proactive fashion."

Wilson said there is no consensus among faculty members about what should have been cut or by how much.

To reach agreement Wilson said, "We're going to need two things that we didn't have before: time and faculty involvement."

Buckley agreed.

"There are some faculty who are unhappy and dissatisfied," Wilson said. "They want to be more effectively involved in planning. And I'm in full support of that."

Dale Craig, a faculty member who was involved in the district budget-cutting process as then president of United Faculty, questions whether such deep cuts were necessary at all. He believes classes could have been funded from the district's reserves, which have grown from $30 million to $38 million over the last year.

"Every faculty member on this campus should be mad. They shouldn't just be perturbed or upset," he said. "They should go out and look at their students, look at what's happening to their students, and they should be mad. Like I am."