Citrus College Change

When students returned from winter break, many expected to continue taking their Citrus College classes, but found out that the program imploded while school was off.  

This meant many students were forced to switch classes from Citrus Academic courses to AP, Honors, or college prep classes. The only problem is that many students took the Citrus College classes as a way to earn college credit without having to take an AP exam. Now, two questions remain: why did it happen?  Will the opportunity for students to take academic courses ever return?  Ms. Read, Principal of Academics, said that the red flags started months ago.

“About this time last year, Citrus started a conversation about our programs because the laws have slowly been changing, and restrictions are beginning tighter about how to do dual enrollment programs.”

One reason for this change is a conflict around teacher pay. For Citrus College classes, each school gets funded for dual enrollment, which means academic teachers who also teach CC classes are paid more.  

Also, academic teachers who teach within the academic day don’t meet state requirements for both coding and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  This all boils down to funding and making sure CSArts teachers are compensated for their work. Last year’s contract between the Citrus College teachers and CSArts meant that they got paid more than they would have with Citrus College’s contract alone. If CSArts doesn’t pay, there would be a substantial pay cut for our teachers. Citrus couldn’t find a way for the school to continue without teachers getting a pay cut.  Even through a negotiation process, there ended up being no solutions.

And if pay cuts were out of the question, teacher cuts were brought in. Since Citrus wanted their professors to teach CC classes, CSArts would need to replace our teachers for Citrus College professors to be able to instruct on our campus.  That option was an obvious no-go.

While some CSArts students already have to stay late for some Conservatory classes, their original option was for students to start school early at  6:45 a.m. and stay late until 7 p.m. “We already have a long day. So when I presented that as an option to our board, they were like, absolutely not, like, all of our data shows that our kids already are overwhelmed with the long day and that it’s, you know, it’s a big commitment,” Read said. 

Not only were teachers hesitant about this option, but they were also hesitant about how much pressure it would put on students already having too much on their plates.

Ruth Klinman, a sophomore in the Creative Writing Conservatory, has shared her own personal experience and view on the Citrus College Changes. According to her, she had to change her schedule. Ruth said, “I had to switch classes to AP, so I’m in a completely different classroom. It’s been halfway through the school year, so I’ve had three different history teachers this year, which has been really strange, because in the CCC class first semester, the teacher was out, and then the beginning of the second semester, the teacher came back, and then a couple of weeks in, I had to switch to AP.”

The sudden end of the Citrus College courses left many students adjusting to new schedules and academic plans. The removal of the classes was a result of a complex balance between funding, regulations, contracts, and education opportunities. As our community adjusts, CSArts is looking for other opportunities for scholastic advancement.