OCC should not fail students by class cuts

It appears a budget crisis at Orange Coast College is going to

hurt the people who least deserve it: the students.

OCC officials announced this month that, in order to trim away

about $500,000, spring classes are also going to get a trimming. It

is expected that the college will be able to offer about 20% fewer

sections, meaning more crowded classes at a school where small class

size is a key to its success and attraction.

The news would be distressing if the cause were a statewide budget

problem.

But, while that is part of the cause, it turns out the OCC

officials also are to blame.

“We’ve overextended our budget for offering classes,” said Bob

Dees, the college’s vice president of instruction. “We’re trying to

get back closer to our actual budget. We’ve been in such a high

growth mode that we’ve extended ourselves too far.”

Such mismanagement is troubling for two reasons. The first is that

students attending OCC -- a smart way to get an education, where one

can build a solid foundation without emptying a bank account -- are

going to suffer. They will be in classes that are bigger than they

ought to be.

Others will not get the classes they want.

It is also troubling because OCC is part of the Coast Community

College District, which has put on the November ballot a $370-million

bond designed to fund a host of facility improvements at the three

district campuses.

But if college officials are failing to manage the money they

have, it sends a poor signal to voters that they can be trusted with

millions more, however needed that money might be.