Up to 24 full time staff members at De Anza College stand to be terminated on June 30, according to President Brian Murphy. In order to balance a budget that is 4.8 million dollars less than this past year, the college must also cut dozens of hourly classified positions, including 32 employees in the Student Success Center. President Murphy originally outlined these potential layoffs in a letter to De Anza staff sent on January 29 of this year. Murphy stated that “these proposed reductions in force are hardly acceptable” and that he and the college “pledge to search for alternatives.” On March 25, Murphy released a letter to the community, documenting the work done to remove seven names from the list of 24. Murphy said that this was “cold comfort in light of the reductions we have had to make across the campus.” Some faculty members will be able to keep their jobs until June 30 of 2011, being funded by one-time dollars, and while this may be a bright side, the cuts will eventually be made. The Co-Operative Education Program has been eliminated due to the budget as well. This program allows full time workers to receive college credit and enables them to be full time students. Carmen Pereida, co-op education coordinator, “It is more than just college credit for work experience,” said Carmen Pereida, Co-Op Education coordinator.”It is a lifeline for them to support their kids, support their education and develop their skills.” Business Major Peyman Faghirizadeh added to this sentiment, and said that there “are better ways to spend money on campus” and that he sees money being “wasted all the time. He added that he was upset this program was being cut, especially because “in any job, it’s nothing about the book, and everything about experience.”On April 5, the Board of Trustee’s reluctantly approved the June 30 layoffs. Human Resources Director Kim Chief Elk described the district’s extensive andcontinuing efforts to help displaced employees prepare for and find new positions. Chief Elk said that the goals are “to mitigate job loss” and “safeguard employees who arebeing affected so dramatically.” “I am grieving,” said Mary Browning, supervisor of the Student Success Center. “We are reorganizing and starting a new Student Success Center in a smaller area to replace what we will lose June 30.” California is in the midst of an economic crisis, and while cuts have been repealed from community colleges all over the state due to revisions in the Governor’s budget, De Anza still faces its challenges.