The question why Kern Community College District Chancellor Sandra Serrano did not defer the $20,000 raise she received during this economic crisis affecting community colleges such as Bakersfield College was not sufficiently answered in the opinions of some BC students who attended the Nov. 30 open forum in Finlinson 40.
Serrano was the chief speaker who fielded various questions by students and staff during the forum. KCCD, represented by Serrano, covers not only BC but Porterville College and Cerro Coso as well.
Many questions posed concerned budget cuts in funding for programs such as special accommodations for disabled students and reduced class offerings. Serrano said BC will face a budget deficit that will last three to four years.
Serrano’s answer to the question about her apparently unwarranted and untimely raise was that the KCCD board of trustees determined that she was the lowest-paid chancellor, and that she had not received a raise in three years.
Breanna Coe, 22, BC American Sign Language major and forum attendee, countered Serrano’s statement by pointing out that Serrano said herself that she had brought up the issue of her personal raise to the board of trustees’ table. Coe also said that she thought it was inappropriate that Serrano’s raise occurred in the middle of a classified employee negotiation dispute.
Fellow student attendees Rochelle Kurwitz, 25, political science major, and Lenae Russ, 17, ASL major, also said that they were bothered by the fact that Serrano had brought the raise issue to the trustees’ table herself.
Also, neither Kurwitz nor Russ was satisfied with Serrano’s answer concerning how much money was actually spent on categorical programs such as BC’s Disabled Students Programs and Services and how much money was left over.
“It was ridiculous that she couldn’t give us an actual number. We need to know how much reserve money is used for categorical programs,” said Russ. Russ, Coe and Kurwitz are all student employees for BC’s Disabled Students Programs and Services.
Student attendees stated that special accommodations programs are facing the budget ax, and many fear that programs could actually be discontinued.
“The needs of special accommodations will be met; they’ll just be met differently,” said Greg Chamberlain, BC president who also attended the forum.
Coe expressed concern that seasoned DSPS employee Liz Elms will be replaced by a less experienced employee because of budget cuts, which would not benefit students, Coe felt.
Serrano conceded that the money from the state for categorical programs was drastically cut. However, she stated that DSPS will be preserved and not discontinued.
“We must identify the services that must be maintained and decide which services should be scaled down or consolidated, and each college must assess which service needs modifications in staffing and other areas. This will be done without violating state or federal laws,” Serrano said.
She also said colleges must look at waitlists and assess student demands for programs and classes. She mentioned that the staff ratios at BC were not at the recommended level.
Serrano also said that she couldn’t say what upcoming changes at BC will consist of, but there will be a concerted effort on the part of all to diminish the impact of budget cuts on student services.
In addition to a budget deficit that will last three to four years, some of the federal stimulus money the district received recently will not cover the next three years.
She also brought up the fact that the organization CalPERS, which supports pensions for KCCD employees, lost money from market investments.
Serrano further conceded that some improvement for KCCD might show by 2014, but that “improvement” will not be better than what occurred in 2009.
According to Serrano, the state requires that each college have at least a five percent money reserve, and that BC will need over a 20 percent reserve to cover standard allocations during the years in deficit. During these years in which BC will need this 20 percent reserve money, the money will drop to eight percent.