Sierra College's Board of Trustees recently decided to eliminate the automotive, construction and agriculture departments. This decision does more than eliminate 35 faculty positions; it leaves hundreds of students, some with just one or two semesters left before earning their degree, with nothing. Budget cuts should be made in every department. When a family faces a budget shortfall, they don't decide to quit feeding one of their children. Everyone makes sacrifices and lives with less.

The board has used the excuse that there is declining enrollment in these programs. A quick look at the college's Web site shows that the classes in these programs are all full. How can there be declining enrollment when they are turning away students? At a time when so many people have lost their jobs and are looking for retraining opportunities, how can the board eliminate these vocational programs? These programs produce graduates in two to three years who will provide our community with necessary services.

While these students may not be members of the elite academia, with grease and soil in their fingernails and sawdust in their pockets they are the backbone of our community. They fix our cars, grow our food and build our houses.

Cathy McCallister

Grass Valley