On March 17 students, teachers, parents and concerned citizens are heading to the state capital to hold a rally to protest the potential budget cuts that will affect the San Mateo Community College District.
The purpose of this rally is for all those affected by these budget cuts to voice their opinions to the legislator and congressmen of our state.
Currently, many programs have been cut from this spring semester at Skyline College. Over the next year budget and funding cuts will reduce community college funding by 10% and increase funding by 2.5% for the CSU and UC systems. Many teachers, staff and administrators could lose their jobs due to this lack of funding cuts, programs such as student services, including childcare, health care and counseling will be drastically reduced to save money.
We at The Skyline View support the rally in the capital. We feel that with this opportunity we, the college students, can voice how we feel about this budget crisis. It’s important that we attend this rally so the men and women in the state capital know how we feel about this budget crisis.
With the little money community colleges receive now, it is important to make it a point that we should not suffer because our state is in a crisis. Community colleges receive $4,700 to date per student while UC’s receive $25,000 per student, California inmates $21,000 per person, CSU’s $11,500 per student, and K-12 $7,000 per student. This is a huge difference in funding per student at these schooling institutions. The money might be taken away from our programs and the extra money from fee increase will not go back into the community college system, it will go to the general fund for the state.
We suggest a few reasons why it is important for the Skyline College student to attend the rally:
1. Letting congressmen and women of the state know how college students feel about the budget cuts will in fact make an impact, THEY DO LISTEN.
2. Allowing these cuts to happen without any form of a protest will show that we do not care what happens to the community college system, which is not the case.
3. You get to miss classes for a good cause.
Now, The Skyline View understands that programs throughout the state need to be cut and that everyone in one way or another will be affected. These cuts need to be made somewhere and the community colleges are an easy target.
However, community colleges are home to many students who cannot afford a university level education. The students that attend community colleges are here for a reason, not because they like the environment necessarily but because it’s affordable schooling. And since the money that is being cut in programs and the fees being increased are not going back into the system, it does not seem like a fair match to cut our funding when they are increasing the funding of other school systems and universities.
It is important for as many people as possible to attend this protest as possible. If you don’t, then these budget cuts will continue to happen and we the college students will be paying the price in the end.
For more information on this rally in Sacramento, contact the Associated Students of Skyline College at (650) 738-4275. They are counting on you to make the difference.