Students listen as Rep. Brownley explains the budget crisis in Sacramento and its impact on educational funding.

• Elected Officials Address reduced classes, other cuts in services at community colleges

Two Town Hall meetings at Mission and Pierce Colleges on Oct. 29 featured hundreds of students asking legislators tough questions about the budget cuts and their impact on their education. At Pierce College, before a standing room only crowd, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley fielded questions from students about the budget process and heard their displeasure over more cuts. At Mission College, Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcon took questions from students asking about the future of their education, and focusing on the California state budget crisis.

The meeting at Pierce, held at the Campus Center, was called “Budget My Education” and was hosted by Students Organizing for Success (S.O.S.). Many students in attendance were there because of concern for classes.

“I never thought college would be the thing that would be hindering me from getting an education,” said Pierce student Mariya Gorelik, noting how the downsizing of classes might cause her to take longer to get the classes needed to transfer.

“Times are very, very grim, particularly for education,” Brownley said as she took the stage, noting that California has made the deepest cuts ever during this economic crisis. “Community colleges were probably hit the hardest.”

Brownley explained some of the causes for the budget crisis and subsequent cuts in education:

• Gov. Schwarzenegger’s reduction of the vehicle license fee, causing a loss of more than $16 billion in state revenue.
• California’s Three Strikes law causing the state to spend more on prisons and less on higher education.
• Habitual spending by legislators

After a student asked what she would do to help the schools, Brownley said she couldn’t guarantee there would be no more future cuts, but that she would “fight it every step of the way.”

Photos by Stephen Kamont