California pays the same for students to move their buns in community college P.E. classes as it pays for them to crack books in English, biology and other academic courses.
There are people in state government who want to change that.
Policymakers will need to decide what's more important: saving money in tough economic times or promoting fitness at a time when obesity -- and related illnesses such as diabetes -- are at epidemic levels.
People on both sides are working up a sweat over a proposal to reduce funding for community college P.E.
"Sound mind. Sound body. There's a reason there's a saying like that," said Fresno City College P.E. instructor and baseball coach Ron Scott, who opposes any cut.
But, decreasing state funding for P.E. courses could save up to $120 million a year, money that could provide health care to the poor, said state government analyst Paul Steenhausen.
He works for the Legislative Analyst's Office in Sacramento, a nonpartisan state agency that gives fiscal and policy advice to the Legislature. The LAO, run by Fresno native Mac Taylor, is recommending that lawmakers reduce funding for P.E. classes; no action was taken in the budget deal approved by the Legislature last week.
However, that doesn't mean the idea is dead.
"We like to say our recommendations have a long shelf life," Steenhausen said. "Any action not taken one year could become more attractive in coming years."
The LAO proposal would cut in about half the amount the state pays community colleges for enrollment in P.E. classes. For example, a bowling class with 30 students meeting two hours a week for a 15-week semester now costs taxpayers about $7,000, Steenhausen said. Under the LAO proposal, the cost would be about $4,000, he said.
State funding to community colleges is based on student head count, similar to how K-12 schools get state money.
The LAO proposal doesn't address P.E. courses at California State University or University of California campuses. The state also pays CSUs and UCs for their P.E. courses. However, students pay higher fees to attend those schools and are less likely to repeat P.E. courses, which happens frequently at community colleges, Steenhausen said.
The state has tried before to downgrade P.E. in community colleges, said Frank Gornick, chancellor of the West Hills Community College District, which has colleges in Coalinga and Lemoore. He opposes any cut; his district estimates it could get about $1 million from the state for P.E. enrollment during the 2008-09 school year.
"We certainly need the money in these times," Gornick said. "What we get for P.E. is a small part of our budget, but reducing our allocation from the state -- after other cuts we've taken -- makes it difficult for us."
P.E. courses could be slashed under the LAO proposal, said Fresno City College Athletic Director Susan Yates.
"If I were a college president, the temptation would be to offer the courses where you're getting most reimbursement from the state," she said.
City College is offering more than 100 P.E. courses this semester, including yoga, archery, fitness and badminton, and enrollment is high, Yates said.
Students in a Wednesday weights and aerobics fitness class at City College said they're opposed to the LAO proposal.
Tou Moua said he doesn't have time to go to a private gym while studying to be a registered nurse. "But my health is my No. 1 priority," said Moua, 23, of Fresno.
Kelli Couto, 39, of Fresno, said that P.E. classes can help students establish positive lifelong habits. "No matter what education you get, if you're not healthy, you won't be successful," she said.
The state also pays community colleges for the specialized P.E. classes that intercollegiate athletes take. Football players at City College, for example, enroll in a course to earn credit in the fall semester for hours spent practicing. In the spring semester, they can take another for-credit P.E. course in which they lift weights. Most of their other courses must be academic, Yates said.
Athletes in other sports can take similar courses.
Experience shows that if athletes come to campus for their P.E. courses, they also attend their academic courses, Yates said.
And what do academic teachers think about the LAO proposal?
"I can understand what the state wants to do, but it's not good in the long run," said Rick Santos, a linguistics and English-as-a-second-language instructor and former president of City College's Academic Senate who is now working at Reedley College.
Some may not view P.E. as having the same merits as an academic curriculum, Santos said, but P.E. might end up being more useful. For example, students could apply yoga class techniques to stay fit throughout life.
"To start saying one area of instruction is better -- I don't know you can say that," Santos said. "It's too subjective."
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