SAN MARCOS ---- Palomar College officials and board members urged the public Tuesday to continue pushing Sacramento lawmakers for a budget that supports community colleges.

In the meantime, the college is preparing to send a professor to the capital today to try to keep legislators focused on public education.

Jerry Patton, the vice president for finance at Palomar, told about 50 people at a board meeting on the school's main campus in San Marcos that lawmakers have to be kept aware that community colleges must not be compromised. He said appropriations for the two-year colleges could be jeopardized if legislators feel the pressure is off.

"It's really important because I think we have lost the momentum," Patton said.

That momentum, capped by an unprecedented rally by students at the Capitol in March, led Gov. Gray Davis to reverse plans to cut in half the programs that serve people with disabilities and poor students. It has also led to proposals to blunt a planned jump in fees from $11 to $24 per credit hour. The governor in May further called for a cut of $125 million to the community college system ---- far less than the $219 million he proposed in January.

Today, Palomar archaeology professor Phil de Barros joins other community college advocates for a day of lobbying in Sacramento, sponsored by an organization called Keep the Doors Open. Board member Nancy Chadwick said it is "more important than ever to maintain vigilance now" as fragile political alliances in Sacramento that have been backing the two-year colleges appear to be crumbling.

"We're on the 10-yard line and we're on the third down," she said.

In other action, the faculty senate, the governing body for the teachers, reported to the board that it is meeting with Palomar President Sherrill L. Amador about morale on campus. The board has directed the president to improve her relationships with people and groups on campus. The board was told that the senate and Amador will tackle the question of "how do we know that we have good morale?"

The board also ratified the appointment of Berta C. Cuaron as vice president for instruction. The college last week announced the Miramar College dean had been named to the post even before the board gave its approval. Cuaron, who is scheduled to start at Palomar on July 28, replaces Diane Lutz, who has been in the post since 1996 and whose contract was not renewed by the board.