Emily Kelley/Roundup
There has been a lot of talk about the district’s budget crisis, but what’s not being said is how to deal with it.
With school budget cuts happening all over the state, will Pierce College’s arts and adult education programs be the next things on the chopping block?
Jack Scott, California Community Colleges chancellor, suggested during a recent statewide telephone interview that schools cut “non-essential” courses, such as photography, to deal with the 8-percent decrease in funds.
While it seems easy to throw away the arts and accelerated programs for more “essential” ones, the “non-essential” programs may prove to be the most vital of all.
As hard as it is to believe, some students are not content taking only math, English and other classes needed to transfer. Classes like art or photography may very well be the only reason some students can sit through their other classes.
Without those classes, art students will have to spend more time and more money at a four-year college doing lower-division courses, the same courses students could have completed at a community college.
Art classes at Pierce help not only to inspire students, but to prepare them for future careers as well.
Adult programs like the Program for Accelerated College Education (PACE) offer classes that last eight weeks and meet on Saturdays. Students in this program are working adults who want to earn an associate’s degree (A.A.) or transfer in two years, while still being able to hold a full-time job.
Cutting programs like this would just add more students to the already exceeded enrollment cap, because it would take those students longer to meet A.A. or transfer requirements.
According to Scott, California community colleges currently enroll 150,000 more students than they receive funding for.
A community college stigma has always been the “get in, get out” motto. While a lot of students want to just get their general education classes done and move on to a four-year school, there are also students who want to enjoy and utilize their time at Pierce.
These so-called “non-essential” programs should not be seen as expendable courses to just throw away to make room for more standard classes.
Money matters, but providing for students should matter more than anything.
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