State Funding Cuts Could Hurt College

When the California state budget is finally passed, community colleges are going to be facing cuts in funding.

Columbia College President Jim Riggs said he expects some of the cuts in services will be unavoidable. This, along with a sharp increase in student enrollments at the Mother Lode campus could spell problems.

Riggs says he is concerned.

“The deadlock that we´re seeing is certainly disconcerting,” Riggs said. “There´s some projections to cut critical services. What we´ve done internally is cut elsewhere and shift resources over.”

The college president said people will find campus services not as they have been in the past.

An interesting twist Riggs noted is when the economy suffers, community college enrollments go up.

Riggs said he expects enrollments to continue growing at Columbia College, but not necessarily the state funding to cover the costs of the increased demand.

He said Columbia College enrollments have grown 23 percent in the last four years. The college anticipates another 4 to 6 percent increase in students this year at the Mother Lode campus.

Classes begin at Columbia College September 3rd.