Valley College President Sue Carleo discussed the current state of the school’s budget Tuesday inBa town hall-style meeting.

Roughly five-dozen faculty members, staff and students attended the meeting in the Campus Center’s fireside room to gather additional information regarding upcoming budget cuts and the impact they will have at Valley.

“We’ve been discussing the budget forever and ever,” said Carleo. “We are still not reaching everybody, so we wanted to take one more opportunity to talk about the budget.”

The 2012-2013 budget will not be finalized until after the November elections, but it is already known that there will be significant cuts. A proposal on the ballot will determine just how large those cuts will be. If the proposed tax increase is approved, the budget is estimated to be $47.4 million. Without the additional funds from the proposal, the budget would be about $44.2 million. Both these figures fall far short of the current school year’s budget of $49.5 million. The uncertainty over the exact budget for next year means that Valley has to plan for the possibility that the tax increase will not be approved and hope for the best.

“We have to plan for the worst-case scenario,” said Carleo. “It’s really not going to be an easy year.”

Some plans have already been implemented to limit spending. While salaries for faculty and staff cannot be cut, a hiring freeze has been put into place. The payroll will be trimmed by not replacing retirees.

Additional cost-cutting efforts have resulted in eliminating most of the summer session. A very limited program will be offered, including some physical education classes and athletic programs. This follows anticipated reductions in classes during the fall and spring semesters, though the class schedule has not been finalized.

“We set up a conservative fall and spring schedule and then will use winter to make up the difference,” said Sandy Mayo, the vice president of academic affairs. “We felt it was better to delay than to have a promise out there that we then break.”

Students are already aware of a fee increase from $36 to $46 per unit to be implemented this fall, but Carleo said there was no chance of raising fees further for certain in-demand classes. A similar proposed tiered tuition program at Santa Monica College was found to be illegal by the state attorney general.

Some fund-generating measures have already begun in an effort to offset the cuts. Photovoltaic systems have already been installed in some parking lots. These solar-powered lights are expected to save $120,000 per year in energy costs, according to Tom Jacobsmeyer, the vice president of administrative services.

Despite efforts to limit spending, cuts are still necessary. Administrators are forced to make difficult choices when choosing how to allocate funds. “We have to do the best we can with what we’ve got,” said Carleo. “Every decision,  we have to make sure that’s the best decision.”