Bakersfield College’s students and faculty aren’t pleased about a proposed tuition increase that will more than double education costs, and they are even less pleased with the fact that the money will be going to the state deficit.

Marci Lingo, a Bakersfield College librarian and English teacher, points out that the fee increases will not go to the college.

“The community colleges are not keeping the tuition increases (to make up for cuts in budget). It is going straight to the general fund.”

What that means is, the tuition increase is more like a tax on college students rather than a true raise in tuition, which would benefit the school.

“I think it’s unconscionable,” said Dr. Greg A. Chamberlain, BC dean for learning resources and information technology, about the looming fee increase.

Next semester, BC may be a different campus, forced to cut 10 percent of its budget, roughly $6 million. On top of that, the state will raise tuition to $24 per unit.

Students like Kristen Gupton, a 19-year-old who hopes to become a Web designer, will have to skip her vacation this summer to make the money she will need to pay an additional $13 per unit.

“I can’t take a vacation this summer because of how much it is going to cost me next semester.”

Eric Rumbo, a 20-year-old liberal studies major, said that there is no room for cuts at BC.

“I think that all the classes that they provide here are a necessity for (what somebody) wants to major in,” he said.

Sandy Iniguez, a 20-year-old history major, doesn’t know why community colleges are being asked to make up the difference in the state budget.

“I think if they need money … they shouldn’t go to community colleges. People are here because they don’t have money. Maybe they should go to private colleges (for funding) where they can afford it,” she said.

Kim Widger, a music minor and a registered nurse, wants her tax dollars to benefit schools, not be cut from them.

“I think it’s a shame to cut education. I pay mucho taxes and I would much rather pay on education and health any day.”

In the next two weeks, all programs at Bakersfield College will be evaluated. When the dust settles, students may find a very different school next semester.

There also is talk that some faculty members may face layoffs.

Steve Eso, a psychology professor and president of the faculty union, said if it becomes necessary for mass layoffs, a process called “bumping” may be instituted, where senior faculty members can bump less experienced instructors or adjunct faculty, who then lose jobs.

While he hasn’t heard anything official yet, faculty members should know if they’ll have a job in the fall by March 15.

“Right now, its like trying to hit a moving target,” he said. “Is it gonna be high? Is it gonna be low?”

Classified staff members also have been concerned about possible reductions in staff, an issue that has been in negotiations for months. Janet Skibinkski, a classified union official, could not be reached for comment by press time.

Lingo knows that staff will be affected but believes that students will feel the brunt of the impending changes the most.

“I mean, we don’t know where the cuts are going to come … but it is the students who are going to be the people who are sacrificed.”

— Editor in Chief Jarrod M. Graham contributed to this story.