Schools

$150K Piano Purchase Angers Students, Faculty at SRJC

Group says piano purchased with donated funds

Over the past year, Santa Rosa Junior College has had to lay off some of its faculty and offer fewer classes to students in light of $30 million in statewide cuts to community colleges.

Despite the tough financial times, last month SRJC  voted to purchase a $150,000 Steinway grand piano for an auditorium of the Petaluma campus, a move that has angered some, according to an article in this week’s issue of the school paper, the Oak Leaf.

The piano was purchased by Friends of Petaluma Campus, part of the SRJC Foundation using private donations. No money came out of the school’s budget, according to Christina Kauk, chair of the Friends of Petaluma Campus trust and a part-time instructor at the school.

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Still many believe that the purchase sets the wrong tone because it comes at a time when many students are struggling to pay their tuition and textbook fees and have to delay transferring to four-year-schools because of lack of needed classes.

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