Midyear Cuts Deal $1.2 Million Blow to SMC

is reaching for its rainy day money.

A spokesman said administrators could be forced to deplete a $1.24-million contingency set aside by Santa Monica College's Board of Trustees in September as it braced for midyear state budget cuts triggered Tuesday.

"We prepared ourselves when we passed our budget, putting aside money in case this happened," spokesman Bruce Smith said.

Reacting to revenues that fell short of projections, the state is slashing spending by $980 million, with hits being absorbed by higher education, K-12 schooling, developmental services medi-cal and other social services.

The budget for California's community college system will be slashed by $102 million, Gov. Jerry Brown announced Tuesday.

At Santa Monica College, that translates to a $1.24 million blow. Additionally, students will have to pay $10 more per unit starting this summer. One unit will now cost $46.

That's far below the rest of the nation, but it's still nearly $1,400 a year for a full-time student, and community colleges have a high percentage of low-income students, according to the Huffington Post.

"It’s unfortunate," Smith said. "It clearly makes affordability more of an issue for our students."

Smith noted, however, that about 38 percent of students qualify for fee waivers, officially called California Community Colleges Board of Governors’ grants, as well as other financial aid packages, that will help them make tuition payments.

Still, that's less than half the student population. Downey resident Ethel Cabrera said she doesn't receive any financial aid.

She commutes to Santa Monica for her classes because of the school's high transfer rates, which are among the best in the nation. She worries what effect the tuition increases will have on her single mom, who foots the bills. 

"She has to balance everything," Cabrera said. "It's a hard time."

Meena Janmohaded, a 20-year-old studying political science, said the recent waves of tuition increases and budget cuts have “really screwed” her.

With general education classes like math and English in shorter supply in the wake of faculty layoffs, it’s taking students longer to transfer into four-year universities, she said.

“My dad recently retired—it’s one of the reasons I decided to go to community college, even though I got into private schools,” Janmohaded, a Santa Monica resident, said. “I thought I was making the responsible decision.”