GLENDORA -- Citrus College managers agreed to forgo a 4-percent salary increase as the Board of Trustees on Tuesday slashed spending by $3.5 million.

The board approved a 2003-04 budget of $44.4 million, representing a 7-percent reduction in comparison to the 2002-03 budget of $47.9 million.

Prior to approving the budget, the board agreed to suspend the managers' July 1 increase of 4 percent for one year. The board also will study management compensation.

"It was a very humble gesture," said Citrus College President Michael Viera. "I applaud them for doing it."

Board member Sue Keith said she would like to see compensation be more equal between different employee groups.

"I don't want to see one group up here and another group down here," she said. "It may take awhile to get there."

Officials said the management team decided to give up the raise after discussing how the state budget crisis is impacting the college. The $177,000 saved by eliminating the increase will go toward additional classes and services for students.

Faculty Senate President Joseph Harvey, one of the most vocal critics of manager raises, said he was pleased by the board's action.

A 2002 study conducted by former Citrus College researcher Michael Kwiatkowski showed the average manager at Citrus earned a higher salary than other area colleges. The study included figures from Antelope Valley, Chaffey, Glendale, Rio Hondo and Santa Clarita community colleges.

Faculty and support staff, in contrast, had lower salaries when compared to these colleges, according to the study.

Under the 2003-04 budget, costs for faculty, which includes administration, adjunct faculty and regular faculty members, took one of the largest hits with $2.6 million in reductions compared with last year.

Another hard-hit area was the Partnership for Excellence program, which was reduced by 1.2 million. The program totaled $2.7 million in 2002-03, compared with $1.5 million for 2003-04.

The Partnership for Excellence program covered areas such as retaining students and increasing the number of students who transfer to four-year colleges. Officials said the cuts were made because the state cut funding in those areas.

Academic Senate President Marilyn Eng, a counselor at the college, said she was disappointed that counseling courses were heavily cut.

"The counseling instructional program was cut by 90 percent for the fall 2003 semester," Eng said. "In the recent five-year profit and loss statement, the counseling instructional program was ranked first as being a high profit program and had one of the highest retention rates on campus."

The cuts eliminate courses in career and life planning, transfer planning and strategies for college success.

Eng said classes also have been significantly cut, in comparison to last year's fall offerings, for computing and information systems and photography.

The board is expected to give final approval to the budget in the coming weeks.