Students fill the quad at Cabrillo College in Aptos. (Todd Guild/Pajaronian file)

Cabrillo College is being forced to cut 70 of its 1,394 classes and $4.5 million from its $89.3 million budget as a result of low attendance and state funding cuts.

The cuts amounting to 5% of its budget and classes came as a surprise this week when the state declined to fund teaching units dropped when nine faculty members retired. Up to now, the state has funded new staff when teachers left.

The school joins many others facing declining enrollment and a budget for the 2025-26 school year that does not include a cost-of-living adjustment.

Those effects will be felt soon, said Cabrillo President Matt Wetstein, adding the cuts will largely affect math and English courses—although other areas such as art will feel the sting, too. Next week, Cabrillo officials will begin considering how to cut the college’s budget, Wetstein said.

“It’s hard to envision a budget without a cost of living adjustment for the most expensive place in the world to rent or buy a home,” Wetstein said. “That’s devastating for our students and our employees. That’s the kind of future we’re facing and trying to plan for.”

Part of the problem, Wetstein said, is that emergency funding sources that came to Cabrillo during the Covid-19 pandemic, and after the CZU fires, are ending. And while the college is applying for an extension on that, there is no guarantee it will come.

Also, the state’s Student-Centered Funding Formula gives more to colleges that serve low-income students and those working toward a degree or transfer to a four-year university.

That puts Cabrillo College—which has high numbers of older students taking single classes—at a financial disadvantage, Wetstein said.

“We’re in a situation with a budget deficit, and an uncertain funding level for the coming year,” he said. “In order to help balance the budget, there are faculty positions that are not getting replaced pretty much throughout the college in various departments.”

The college has 185 full-time faculty. But with declining enrollment, the college currently has more than is needed, and above the state-required minimum, said Cabrillo spokeswoman Kristin Fabos.

Last year, around 12,000 students were enrolled, compared to 2018 when that number was closer to 15,000.

Much of that loss came during the pandemic, and the college has been clawing its way back, increasing 4% every year since then. 

But Wetstein does not envision a return to previous levels of enrollment any time soon.

The decline is caused in part by an exodus of residents to better economic climes.

Only about 200 of the 900 homes lost during the CZU fires have been rebuilt, Wetstein said.

A similar trend is also happening in Pajaro in the wake of the 2023 floods.

Wetstein fears “there is a lost amount of enrollment from the Pajaro flood that we’re never going to get back.”

It is not yet clear what specific classes will be cut. The department deans will soon have to make that determination, Wetstein said.

“I think it’s going to be a position-by-position determination on whether we do a rehire for a particular job,” he said. 

Wetstein stressed that Cabrillo is still on a positive trend, an assertion evidenced by the Oct. 21 announcement by the financial technology company Smart Asset naming the school the best community college in the state, and 37th in the U.S.  

“We do great work and I don’t want to lose that fact,” he said. “It’s often hard for faculty and staff to go through periods like this, and I don’t want people to lose sight of how great this institution is.”

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General assignment reporter, covering nearly every beat. I specialize in feature stories, but equally skilled in hard and spot news. Pajaronian/Good Times/Press Banner reporter honored by CSBA. https://pajaronian.com/r-p-reporter-honored-by-csba/

8 COMMENTS

  1. So, declining enrollment and Wetstein does not anticipate the numbers of students will be increasing. Decreased funding, decreased classes to be offered. WHY, then, is Cabrillo getting involved in building housing for students on its land? They should not be in the housing business. I foresee nothing but issues down the road. If a student drops out of school, will they be evicted from their apartment? Is there a max on how long they can live there? , etc.

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    • The state is going to fund the housing which is nuts given that the state budget has a deficit. Providing housing for students at Cabrillo is nuts. Local kids can live at home while attending and out of town students should attend their own local community colleges. Why should taxpayers pay for student housing or teachers housing for that matter or for charging their expensive electric cars. Voters in Watsonville vote Yes on Measure M which will again jack up our property taxes and hurt seniors on limited income. Also rents will go up and I don’t feel sorry for those that voted to raise our taxes and then whine about high rent. Oh well, once the deportations start, there will be some rentals available, thanks to Felon rapist Trump voters.

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  2. I think that the name change debacle soured donators like me forever. There were a couple of unnamed trustees that tried to force the hand of the donors to change the name and spend thousands of donor funds.
    Cabrillo is done in my mind. There are other colleges more deserving of my money. First step is to dump President Wetstain oops did I misspell that?

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    • S. T was one of the instigators who want to change the name. My family has given hundreds of thousands to Cabrillo in past years, however that gravy train has stopped once the trustees showed how stupid they are.

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  3. The lack of vocational workers is at a crisis in the U.S..
    Drop the “feel good” classes and expand classes that people, especially young people,
    can be trained to serve the community and make a good living.
    HVAC, electricians, plumbers, heavy equipment operators, welders, machinists, carpentry, etc..
    Cabrillo has around 70 math teachers, most of them teaching redemdial math, as nearly
    90% of students weren’t taught basic math skills in k-12. Maybe follow other states and bill the K-12 schools for having to spend millions to teach something they neglected to do.
    The people that run the college have no business sense and feel their position is to instigate social change rather than offer classes the public wants…

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    • Well said Dave. I agree. Why aren’t the Middle and High
      Schools teaching the kids math and advanced math? My granddaughter in 8th grade in another state is taking advance algebra and her school expects her to do all her work, contribute to community and also take part in sports, like we used to do in Watsonville Schools. They’ve dumbed down education in
      Watsonville schools.

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