BUDGET FAILURE KEEPS JC ATHLETICS ON ROPES.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

The state legislature's failure to approve a budget by Monday's midnight deadline could have dramatic consequences for California's community college athletic programs, which already are reeling from the worst cutbacks in a generation.

Instead of merely trying to survive the cuts brought on by the state's $38.2 billion budget deficit, community colleges now are bracing to operate on borrowed money and cash reserves - wondering how long they can keep open their doors, let alone field teams this fall.

``It's still too early to tell,'' said Shirley Baskin, president of the California Community College Athletic Directors Association. ``But I think in two weeks or so, we could be in some dire straits.''

Across the state, a record 51 teams already have been dropped or suspended for the 2003-04 school year. Schedules have been trimmed by at least 10 percent for all sports, and emergency legislation cutting the number of playoff teams was approved Monday.

``This is the worst I've seen, and I've been involved in community college athletics since 1967,'' Glendale College athletic director Jim Sartoris said Tuesday, after joking that at least the lights still were on.

``They've talked about gloom and doom in the past but we always found a way to get it done. This is a very real situation.''

The developments from Sacramento on Monday night saw state government fail to pass a budget on time for the 18th time in the past 22 years. But a state Supreme Court decision in May now prevents the state controller from making stopgap payments without an agreement in place.

That left community colleges staring at a $192 million loss in state funding for July as of Tuesday. Some have said they will be unable to continue operations into August without the resumption of aid.

Last year's state budget was not approved until Sept. 5.

The danger to athletics could be realized with the opening of fall sports practice Aug. 15. Without an agreement by the state Assembly and Senate, some colleges could face the prospect of closing - if only temporarily - around that date.

That could delay the start of practice and the entire fall sports season could be threatened if the state legislature waits 67 days after the deadline, as it did last year, to approve a budget. Football season for Southern California community colleges begins Sept. 6.

``You might have coaches coaching for free, which they've had to do before,'' Sartoris said. ``I just don't see it getting to that point. But anything could happen.''

Baskin, who serves as the athletic director at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, said the prospect of a fall sports shutdown has not been discussed yet among her and her colleagues.

``I think it's a little premature,'' Baskin said. ``But that doesn't mean it's not going to start flying across my e-mail soon.''

With no centralized state system, the decision on how long to hold out without state funding will be made on a district-by-district basis. The same districts already have implemented widespread cuts for athletic programs.

At Glendale, football coach John Cicuto will have to go without paying some of his assistant coaches. He also will squeeze an extra year out of the Vaqueros uniforms this fall. At Valley, football coach Ron Ponciano only will be able to take 55 players to away games as opposed to nearly 80 in the past.

Ponciano added that whenever the state budget is passed and signed by Gov. Gray Davis, he expects some schools will have to suspend their football programs for the season.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com