Cerritos College Board of Trustees discuss Budget

by Victor Diaz

The Cerritos College Board of Trustees meeting Oct. 20 addressed a follow-up presentation of the Cerritos College budget which was given at its previous meeting by Vice-president of Business Services David El Fattal.
El Fattal reported that through advanced apportionment, Cerritos will be receiving $1.4 million on Oct. 22 from the state,. He also mentioned that with the arrival of more money coming through Nov. 4, the school is should receive $23 million that was deferred by the State last September. However, he said, “In any event, we may have to borrow a little bit more money our reserve before these funds start coming in, depending upon what our expenditures are.”
El Fattal said that about 25 to 26 percent will be apportioned to Cerritos and the remainder will be given next year. He also gave an update on a report that was given regarding $35 million of the state budget being used for categorical backfill, which, he informed,the Board was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Lastly, El Fattal spoke about the groundbreaking for the remodeling of the new baseball field, which he attended.
Other subjects that were touched upon at the meeting included the recognition of the classified employee of the month for September, that was awarded to Cindy Lo, a program facilitator for the Economics Department.
In the presentation, Cerritos College President Linda Lacy said, “Cindy is especially good with our business partners. She updates them regularly including the new training that is being offered and works diligently to turn training concepts into reality.”
In regard to her experience working at Cerritos, Lo simply said, “I love it here.”
Student Trustee Felipe Grimaldo gave a report of the homecoming events that occurred on Oct. 16. One event Grimaldo mentioned was the homecoming dance that followed the football game against Ventura City College.
Grimaldo said, “The dance was a huge success. At the same time, there were no incidents, so maybe next year we can reinstate it and make it something to look forward to for the students as well.”
Grimaldo credited the success of homecoming night to the amount of participation by students as well as the success of the dance. He also mentioned that due to the dance’s success, this might open the doors for the possibility of other social gatherings on campus in the future.
Board Vice President Tom Jackson also gave a report on his attendance of the Cerritos Theatre Department’s performance of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” which he thoroughly enjoyed.
The next meeting of the Trustees will be on Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. in the Cheryl A. Epple Board Room of the college.