The Skyline Campus will be closed from Friday Nov. 9 through Monday Nov. 12, to observe Veteran’s day. The holiday was originally scheduled for Friday to accommodate the amount of time needed for Monday classes; however the state will not pay for the holiday on Friday. They will only pay for Monday, because it is a state recognized holiday.Dr. Ernie Rodriguez, president of faculty union, local AFT 1493, said he was mystified at why nothing was done initially because at the beginning of the school year the AFT was notified that the state did not approve the calendar. “It is a major inconvenience to rework the schedule now, especially being so close to the end of the semester. It is one less hour of teaching time,” said Rodriguez.Some different departments on campus had varying thoughts on the sudden rescheduling. “[The counseling department] is not particularly affected, it’s mainly the students,” according to Skyline Counselor Don Biederman. Those who have appointments on Monday were called, and asked if they could shift their appointments to Friday. Those who did not call back will have to reschedule.Joe Morello, Dean of Athletics, said that there is no affect on sports whatsoever, even though there was a holiday scheduled, games are still going to be played, and practices will go on as usual.There is quite a large effect however on the “Other 49ers” Presentation. On Monday Ruthanne Lum McCunn was supposed to speak for this presentation, but because of the holiday the presentation will have to be put off. “I have been really sad about that” said Barbara Daley. “It’s a tough time of year to reschedule things. We’re disappointed, but we are hoping to reschedule. We’re hoping to keep it in the semester to keep all of the stories we want to present.” The countywide program has many speakers who appear at other libraries. This one was supposed to be an exclusive for Skyline College, and should be rescheduled some time in early December. Regina Stroud, vice president of instruction said that notifications have gone out to students in the form of text messages, e-mail messages, and they are posting the change on websites and posters, and made sure that all instructors knew there would be no class on Monday.To save the district a half-million dollars, Monday has been declared a flex day. A flex day is one of a few days out of the 175 academic days of instruction that the governor allows a few days for teachers to gain in activities that will help improve their teaching abilities. If Monday is not a flex day it will be considered a lost day, and the district would lose the money.Part-time teachers can be compensated by taking advantage of the flex day by doing activities that will better their teaching abilities. In order to get their compensation for the day teachers are required to submit a self-certification form.Tony Jackson, instructor of social sciences and creative arts, said it probably does affect faculty and teachers on Monday, but 90 percent of the students will be content with the day off.The AFT however, is not happy about this. They will be holding a meeting on Wednesday Nov. 14 in order to prevent this from happening again.

Additional Information provided by, Tony Acuna, Jackson Long, Gino Grelli, Allison Stevenson, Nick Donofrio, Liz McMahon, and Shannon Elliott, Dominic Mitchell.