Mission College Funding

As two former student body presidents of Los Angeles Mission College, we find it disheartening that the college is experiencing a severe crisis. However, it was not until The Times [Valley Edition] editorial, “A District Fails Its Mission,” (July 20) that we felt the source of this crisis was aptly identified. We believe that the district’s myopic view of the situation may create an environment at Mission that will not be conducive to obtaining a higher education. Historically, the district has been under-funding Mission in spite of the fact that it is a relatively new college and in growth mode. In the past two years its student population has grown significantly, yet the Board of Trustees has not taken this growth into account when allocating money to Mission. Therefore, we feel that Mission is being unfairly punished by the district in its formulaic approach to resolving its budgetary problems.

The district needs to realize that not all schools are created equally and that each school’s needs differ by the population that it serves. If the district chooses to mandate that Mission adhere to its demands, then it will succeed in robbing the population of the northeast San Fernando Valley [of] the option of obtaining a quality higher education. As with many other students, Los Angeles Mission College has played an integral role in providing us with the necessary tools to successfully graduate from different universities. We hope that the board realizes that its actions will serve as a hindrance rather than aid to this population in its quest to succeed.

ESAU TOVAR

ASO President 1991-92

San Fernando

GABRIEL MONGE

ASO President 1994

Sylmar