What Just Happened at My Alma Mater?

Last night, the Solano Community Colleges made a tough, but necessary decision to cut its football and aquatic sports programs.

The decision came with a bevy of public comment, much of it against the cutting of the sports programs. Facing a nearly $5 million deficit, the board of trustees cut where it saw fit to do so.

And although it was a necessary decision, I don't have to like it. I am a graduate of SCC, a Falcon. And I can tell you that the football program, at least, was huge at the college.

Students from around the region, including Napa where I attended high school, would choose Solano Community College as the place to go precisely because of the program.

Of course, the ripples of last night's decisions have yet to be seen. But this can't be good for local and regional athletes who had planned on participating in the football and aquatic sports programs at SCC.

It also is a huge hit to the school's identity. It's a shame that money drives the services offered at any given school. But I guess that's the world we live in.

Money woes seem to be the common thread among colleges throughout the state.

In fact, each year it seems that higher education is getting harder for California students to achieve. Just this week, thousands of students went to the state capitol to protest the rising costs of higher education. Some were arrested.

People are fed up. Just how long with the state attempt to solve its money problems on the backs of students who only want an education? On another note, have you seen how much college adminstrators and their support staff make? I know they have tough jobs, but and can see how come tutition fees and budget deficits are so high.

I have two daughters that my wife and I plan to send to college. We have started to save since the days they were born. They are 7 and 4. We are going to need to keep saving.

Just hope that they don't want to play any sports in college. Or my wife and I will have to look for second jobs. And possibly, sending them to a college outside of Solano County.