On Nov. 14th of last year the district board approved an increase in parking fees.
“The implementation took place Jan. 1,” said Bailey Girard, Student Trustee.
However, students who ordered passes (this includes full year passes) before the first will still pay the previous price.
The idea for the increase was originally made by staff in the spring of last year but at the request of students.
It was delayed until fall, where it was presented to the student bodies of each campus in the district last fall. With the approval of the various campus student bodies, it then went on to the District Shared Governance Council for approval.
The district created the Council to allow staff, student, and faculty an opportunity to have a say in governing the district. The Council operates in a climate of trust and collegiality, working with staff and faculty throughout the district to ensure that their concerns are heard by the board.
It was the Council who recommended the increase be put into effect on Jan.1st. 2012, with the idea that it will allow students ample time and allow them to buy permits at the current rate then in fall.
The parking fee increase was made possible when Sacramento approved amendments to sections 76360 and 76361 of the Education Code, in relation to community colleges, in 2011.
The bill raises the maximum parking service fee which the governing boards of each community college district can change annually by the same percentage increase in the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government which is published by the US Department of Commerce. This allows for moderate increases in the future.
The district approved the increase in a meeting in November last year which went into effect on the first of January.
It was previously reported by The Skyline View that the fees will go toward paying security in all three campuses in the district, up-keeping of the parking lot, facility maintenance, and other expenses in an article last fall.
During the district meeting on the Nov. 14, President Mandelkern expressed the possibility of the increase including student fees; however, it is not possible as pointed out by Interim Executive Vice Chancellor Kathy Blackwood.
Interim Executive Vice Chancellor, Kathy Blackwood, has been talking with various vendors “in an attempt to consolidate our (the district) programs for parking, books, and fees.” However, Blackwood hadn’t been able to find any vendor available who has all these functions in one package.
The new parking fees are $2 per day, $25 for summer, $50 for a single semester, and $90 for a year permit.
