State Center Community College District trustees on Tuesday dropped a proposal to eliminate summer school in June, opting instead to make budget trims that will preserve summer classes.

The trustees approved six-week courses that will start in June after hearing about a dozen current and former students speak about the need for summer classes to keep them on track toward graduation.

Student Mario Reyna, a sports medicine major, said summer school kept him on pace to transfer to Fresno State in the fall after three years at Fresno City College.

The 27-year-old Sanger father of three young daughters said he has been stuck in a cycle of poverty.

"It's a cycle I'm trying to break," Reyna said.

He said he doesn't want to see the careers of other students delayed because of the lack of summer classes.

Many students said cutting summer courses would prolong their stay at community colleges and add to their education costs.

Rhyann McClanahan, a Fresno City graduate, said she spent four years at Fresno City College earning her associate's degree because of the lack of class offerings.

"I don't want my brother and sister to have to go through what I went through," she said.

State Center trustees voted to trim $58,000 from summer classes, much less than the more than $500,000 that had been proposed.

Last month, district officials even considered canceling summer classes.

The district operates Fresno City College, Reedley College and Willow International, Madera and Oakhurst centers.

Trustee Richard Caglia thanked the students for speaking about the importance of summer classes. He said he was moved by their passion.

"Hearing things like the desire to get out of the cycle of poverty," he said, "oh my God, that rings so loud."