College facility faces closure

Although the center will finish out the remainder of the current semester, Perez said she doesn't know what will happen beyond that.

For at least the past seven years, the college has won a city grant in the ballpark range of $200,000 a year to operate the center; during times of economic prosperity, the grants were even greater.

"We were always the largest agency funded," Perez said.

With fewer resources this year, however, city officials had to scale back the number of nonprofit groups it funds from 30 to just 14. Housing coordinator Debbie Jones-Thomas said the city zeroed in on helping agencies that provide basic human services, like homeless shelters. The city awarded $885,000 in grants this year, compared to $910,000 last year. Just four years ago, the city gave out more than $1 million in grants. The figure cities dole out every year comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The amount of money for each city is determined by a formula that takes into account figures including the population and the number of people living in sub-standard housing.

"We were up against some really core services to the hungry and homeless," Perez said. "The competition was very stiff."

The center at 400 Main St. offers classes in computer skills, office management, small business development and ESL; about 500 students are served every week.

"It's a very critical resource for a lot of people," Perez said. "The people who use it are people who are too busy to get up to the main campus."

Perez said the college will start exploring alternative ways to keep the center open. Primarily, she said the idea right now is to partner with other school districts or agencies to continue providing important services. Some potential partners include the Sequoia Union High School District, the Department of Social Services and local hospitals.

"We consider our work in the community very, very important," Perez said. "We reach out to working adults who find it difficult in their busy lives making it to the main campus."

The blow to Cañada College comes at a time when the school is already in the throes of a major fiscal crisis. The school cut $1 million - or 10 percent - from its budget last year. That translated into 43 full-time faculty and several staff and administrative positions, Perez said. This year, she said another $325,000 is being slashed.

"It's just one more of these sad stories you're hearing these days," she said.

The City Council will take an official vote on the city's recommendations April 26.

Yunmi Choi can be reached by e-mail at yunmi@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 109. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.