The new Continuing Education West City Campus in Point Loma is set to open in January but it is already faced with state budget cuts that could limit the number of teachers and students the new building would serve. The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) has stopped hiring new administrators and instructors while, at the same time, reduced the number of classes it offers. The moves are in anticipation of midyear budget cuts expected from California state legislators early next year. The state is trying to close an estimated $15 billion fiscal gap, according to published news reports. The cuts could force the SDCCD’s brand-new West City Campus, 3249 Fordham St., to cut courses and services for students, said Anthony Beebe, president of the San Diego Community College District’s Continuing Education Department. The campus would help train chefs and workers for related industries. He said the budget cuts could slow job training if continuing education teacher positions go unfilled. “We have [student] waiting lists,” Beebe said. “Those waiting lists would allow for new sections, but without new sections, those people would have to wait a little longer.” West City Campus opens for spring enrollment in January, he said. The campus is part of the district’s “Campuses of Excellence” program. The program has six continuing education campuses that specialize in various fields, Beebe said. The West City Campus would offer equipment such as full-size kitchens and digital monitors for culinary students training in hospitality and cooking industries. “We’ve made about $5 million in budget cuts and actual continuing expenditures. Everybody is pretty much tightening their belts,” said Rich Grosch, a Point Loma resident and president of the San Diego Community College Board of Trustees. The community college board wants to avoid layoffs with no “rollbacks” to pay and no reduction of benefits for community college district employees, Grosch said. Though he said the SDCCD might face another estimated $27 million reduction because of the state’s budget crisis next year, he remains optimistic. “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Grosch said. “I think right now we’ll be able to hold the line.” The West City Campus plans to employ about 122, according to Beebe. College officials have not had to reduce the number of teacher positions to be staffed at West City. Officials also increased class sizes and other consolidated courses, Beebe said. Infrastructure and highway construction came to a halt throughout the state because of the budget problems. Construction funding problems around the state, however, has no effect on community college proj-ects. Projects such as the West City Campus are funded by locally passed bonds and remain untouched by the state’s infra-structure budget cuts, according to a letter from SDCCD Facilities Management Vice Chancellor Dave Umstot. San Diego voters passed the $1.5 billion San Diego Community College construction bond propositions S and N in 2002 and 2006, respectively. The bonds help pay for new building construction and campus facility improvements, according to a statement from the district. For more information on bond program progress, visit www.sdccdprops-n.com.