Santa Monica College will eliminate winter session classes for the upcoming school year in response to budget cuts from the state, officials said this week.
Getting rid of the six-week winter session can save Santa Monica College $2.5 million, Donald Girard, senior director of government relations and institutional communications at the Santa Monica campus, told the Los Angeles Times.
During the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the college received approximately $8 million in funding cuts.
The decision to cut course offerings was made on Thursday by the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees, said Bruce Smith, a spokesman for Santa Monica College.
“The college’s financial situation has been tenuous,” Smith said.
Since 2008, the college has cut about 1,100 course sections to match a 12 percent decline in funding from the state, he added.
Officials decided to cut winter classes because the session is the shortest in the year, offering 800 classes at its height, Smith said. Last year, only 400 courses were offered in winter session because of financial reasons, he said.
More cuts may occur at community colleges and the University of California and Cal State University if voters reject Gov. Brown’s proposed tax measure on the November ballot. The measure would increase the sales tax by a quarter of a cent and increase income taxes on the state’s highest earners.
While officials hope that winter session classes can resume in 2014, students who were planning to take classes during the session will need to make other plans, Smith said.
Compiled by Nicole Chiang, Bruin contributor.