Governor Davis’s proposed cuts are just that, proposed. The cuts are not final until months from now. Yuba College, however, is planning to make cuts February 26. In an effort to meet a March 15 deadline for faculty layoffs, the administration has been scrambling to propose cuts to the Board of Trustees.
The Board of Trustees is planning to cut $9 million from the budget, $2.9 million of which are in unrestricted funds. The college’s budget is divided into two categories: Categorical funds, which, according to the Yuba College Budget Handbook, are funds to be spent for a specific purpose such as EOP&S, CalWorks and so forth and cannot be expended for any general purpose. Unrestricted funds, according to the Yuba College Budget Handbook, are funds which may be expended for any general purpose, such as Counseling, Career Guidance and student services, as well as instruction and administration, within established guidelines.
On February 11, the District Council reviewed programs and services cuts. At the meeting a list of proposed reductions and program elimination’s was passed out. However, that list was invalid. At a meeting held on February 6 the Academic Program Review Evaluation Team, consisting of the entire Academic Senate, drew up the list of proposed cuts. However, no agenda was posted before the meeting, in violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act, or more commonly known as the Brown Act. The Act clearly states that an agenda must be posted at least 72 hours prior to the meeting. In effect the meeting was illegal, thereby making the list invalid.
The Academic Senate has since revised the criteria and process to review programs on February 20. The Academic Program Review Evaluation Team re-evaluated all instructional programs using a process at the February 21 meeting. Programs being considered for elimination were allowed a 10-minute presentation by representatives of each program.
According to a handout given at an Academic Senate meeting, the review criteria is as follows:
1. How essential the program is to the mission of the Yuba Community College District.
2. The relationship with other programs and classes at its campus site and within the Yuba
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