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November 22, 2001
Budget crunch, education cuts
HSU, county schools
hard hit; CR spared
Faced with plummeting revenues
following the state's dramatic economic downturn, the state's
budget is heading toward a deficit. Gov. Davis is proposing deep
cut in expenditures in the middle of the budget year and one
of the big losers is education.
All levels of education would
be affected by the governor's plan, which calls for roughly 1
percent budget cuts. According to the proposal, Humboldt State
University would lose $700,000 and Humboldt K-12 schools would
have to trim $1.6 million.
"We're facing a real belt-tightening
of a couple of notches across the campus," said Sean Kearns,
spokesman for HSU. He said the cuts probably would result in
"larger class sizes, hiring freezes and other aspects of
the budget equation."
The impact will be even more
severe for the county's elementary and high schools, said Louis
Bucher, county superintendent of schools. Bucher said the schools
are preparing to take "a pretty good hit."
"The problem with trying
to take cuts this year is the district may have already spent
money that the governor is now saying isn't there," Bucher
said. "That will present a hardship for many schools. If
they happen to have a savings account to draw from, it will be
OK. But if they haven't, they'll have to take other measures."
That means it's a bad year for
new textbooks, equipment and field trips. Teachers operate under
contract, so most will enjoy basically the same working conditions
until that contract expires. Custodial staff and instructional
aides may have their hours reduced, however, Bucher said.
It also means that schools will
lose money slated for energy-saving measures. "Each school
site, even tiny schools like Maple Creek, was supposed to get
$14,000." That money is now gone, he said.
The proposed cuts in the 2001-2002
fiscal year will require legislative approval. The Legislature
is likely to be called back for a special session to deal with
the budget crisis and that is the time to try and minimize the
damage, Bucher said.
"We will be lobbying for
those programs that are closest to the students and will impact
the quality of their education," he said.
The prospect for next year's
budget is even grimmer. Bucher said he has been told that schools
should prepare for cuts of between 5 and 15 percent. Those numbers
could potentially trigger the scaling back or even closure of
some programs.
"At the moment, we're looking
with greater optimism that that might not happen," he said.
One bright note in the budget
gloom is the College of the Redwoods. Community colleges, including
CR, were spared the governor's proposed budget cuts. Statewide,
the community college system lost just $5 million, compared to
$20 million for the California State University system and $843.5
million for elementary and high school education.
CR spokesperson Paul DeMark
said community colleges had been spared because of the awareness
raised by a campaign started when the governor tried to cut their
budget earlier this year. CR lost about $340,000 during those
cuts, but got almost a quarter of the money reinstated after
heavy lobbying.
"Because of that campaign,
the governor is aware of our funding needs," he said.
Wild, wacky weather
Early risers got a pleasant
surprise Sunday morning when the thermometer took a freakishly
quick jump.
At 5 a.m. the temperature at
the National Weather Service's Woodley Island station was a cool
46 degrees. At 6 a.m., the mercury had climbed to 60 degrees.
What caused the coastal hot
flash?
"Before we get a weather
system on the North Coast, we get a south air flow bringing warm
air up from the Bay area," said Jeff Tonkin, a meteorologist
with the weather service. "It's not that abnormal."
By Monday the front of the storm
had hit with winds knocking out power, downing trees and pushing
vehicles around on slick streets.
HSU's lawsuit blues
A major portion of the city
of Arcata's lawsuit against Humboldt State University over the
school's proposed building plans was dismissed early this month
by Judge J. Michael Brown. But he ruled that he will allow one
aspect of the case to proceed.
And in an unrelated matter,
three professors announced they are suing the university over
discriminatory practices in the Native American Studies program.
Arcata's lawsuit is over proposed
construction of a Behavioral and Social Sciences building, a
five-story structure to be perched on a hilltop at the southwest
edge of campus. Residents of the surrounding houses have registered
an array of complaints about the plan, ranging from an increase
in traffic to perceived damage to Arcata appearance.
The city's lawsuit, filed in
response to neighbors' concerns, alleges that the environmental
review for the building is out of date. The building originally
had been planned for construction in the early 1990s, but a state
budget crisis forced the university to delay the project. The
environmental documents date back to 1993 and the city claims
the university should redo the studies because the project has
changed substantially and has a different funding source.
Brown ruled that the environmental
studies were not automatically obsolete just because the university
halted the project in early '90s while seeking new funding sources.
But he also said that if the project itself had changed, new
environmental studies would be required. That left the door open
for the city to continue the lawsuit.
The project has changed, according
to Arcata Mayor Connie Stewart.
"There have been changes
to the height of the building. There are other buildings on campus
that are now supposed to be demolished, and the building is now
going to be used for a public purpose because of the Native American
Studies Center there," she said.
An HSU spokesman said in a statement
released Nov. 16 that the university is "confident it can
demonstrate the project is materially the same as it has always
been," and that it "looks forward to a resolution of
the case." HSU is again seeking additional funding for the
building. The bond funding that had been secured last year was
insufficient to cover any of the bids received for the building's
construction.
The Native American Studies
program, to be housed in the proposed BSS building, is at the
heart of the second lawsuit. Three HSU professors announced last
week that they had filed a lawsuit against HSU alleging discrimination,
retaliation and discrimination.
Joseph Giovanetti, Kathleen
Hill and Joseph Dupris claim their superiors in the fledgling
Native American Studies program have systematically mistreated
them. Specific allegations include falsification of police reports,
destruction of records and a failure to promote or rehire the
faculty.
"They're trying to supplant
us, and we're the only native faculty in the program," Dupris
said.
A university declined to comment
on the discrimination charges, saying it would be inappropriate
to talk about personnel issues and pending litigation.
County schools trustee sought
The Humboldt County Office of
Education announced last week it will select a County Board of
Education trustee in December.
The board controls the education
office's policy and budget and can resolve disputes at the school
board level. The board is composed of seven individuals representing
different areas of Humboldt County.
Olen Fowler's recent resignation
has opened the seat representing Area 6, an area that includes
Blue Lake, Fieldbrook and parts of Arcata. Individuals interested
in serving on the board should submit resumés and cover
letters to the county education office by Nov. 30.
Applicants must reside in Area
6. Call 445-7030 for more information.
Runners at nationals
The Humboldt State University
women's cross-country team may not have won, but when you consider
the competition, a 14th place finish is an honor.
The runners competed in the
NCAA Division II National Championships in Slippery Rock, Pa.
last weekend. Top finishers for the team were Dolores Bergmann
and Rachel Wiseman, placing 51st and 57th, respectively.
The event marked the third time
a women's sports team from HSU has made it to the national championships
this year. Both the softball and women's rugby teams already
traveled to their respective championships.
Battling against fear
Aiding in the search for a constructive
response to terrorist violence are three community forums being
presented by Humboldt State University.
The forums begin Nov. 28 with
"Attacks, Anxiety and Anthrax," a look at what has
been learned from Sept. 11 terrorists attacks and the aftermath
and how that knowledge can be used to become more active in the
home, school and workplace. Future topics include the geopolitics
of Central Asia, the role of religion in terrorism and how our
education is responding to the crisis.
The series is sponsored by the
California Council for the Humanities and HSU's College of Arts,
Sciences and the Humanities. See this week's calendar for details
or call 826-4788.
Electric police car
It may not be built for exciting
car chases, but it will still work for hauling you down to the
station.
Trinidad is going to become
the first city in the state to use an electric patrol car. With
a top speed of 25 miles per hour, the car can't go much faster
than a bicycle policeman, but the car has a major advantage:
The two-seat design allows the Trinidad police force to transport
a suspect.
The car should arrive in December
of this year. It is the latest in a series of developments at
the tiny police department. Trinidad has a new chief, Floyd Stokes,
and two new officers.
Temporary
manager
The city of Rio Dell has selected
an interim city manager to fill the position left vacant by Loretta
Nickolaus when she became Humboldt County's new administrative
officer.
Jim Stretch of Ferndale will
begin as interim city manger Nov. 26. Stretch, who had served
as Humboldt County's assistant administrative officer for 15
years, made it clear he does not plan on applying for the permanent
position.
While the council is recruiting,
Stretch will have his hands full. Rio Dell is in the process
of replacing its water source, a pair of barely functioning wells,
with a permanent water source from the Eel River.
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