Students and faculty attended the Academic Senate meeting on March 10 to voice their concerns and struggles with the lack of a school-wide printing budget.

The issue came as result of the state prohibiting community colleges from collecting materials fees from students.

Every year, De Anza received about $400,000 from materials fees. Part of that revenue was allocated for staff printing needs.

Instructors have not been able to print out class materials for their students, affecting the quality of their education.

Many instructors have to pay out of their own pocket to print handouts necessary for their class.

“I spent $67, used printing from another college I teach at, made additional trips to Kinko’s and even used my printer at home,” said Rene Anderson-Watkins, English instructor.

The policy affects students who do not have the resources to print their materials or time to go to the library.

“I cannot afford to buy a printer,” said Jessica Valione, a working student and mother. “This policy needs to be changed, not just for me but for all the students of low income.”

Ren Johnson, DASB Senate chair of administration,  also spoke during the meeting, addressing the issues students face with eprint.

She discussed her concerns for AB 540 students who do not have access to credit cards in order to pay for the eprint system.

After listening to the speakers,  De Anza President Brian Murphy said he was willing to work to find a solution.

He discussed the college’s low enrollment and said it affected the budget.

“If you want a permanent budget solution, the money has to come at the expense of something else,” said Letha Jeanpierre, vice-president of finance and educational resources.

She encouraged faculty to look at how their departments are using their money in order to come up with a solution.

De Anza is currently struggling with not having enough revenue, according to administrators.

Copies of the college’s 2013-2014 B-budgets were distributed during the meeting. Jeanpierre explained that in order to fund a printing budget, the money needs to be taken from other programs or services.