Unless a miracle happens between now and Thursday

looks like this is it for the dance, photography, horticulture, and other departments on the chopping block at Monterey Peninsula College. Trustees are scheduled to vote Thursday at a special meeting on whether to approve a final layoff notice for nine of its department chair/instructors -- two have since submitted letters of resignation, one could not be laid off according to the grant that funds the position.

In the final layoff list: A.J. Farrar, chair of Administration of Justice; head coach Daniel Phillips; Walter White, chair of the dance department; Sunshine Giesler, chair of the interior design program; Nancy Predham, head of the International students program; Kevin Bransfield, head of the photo department; astronomy teacher David Michaels; counselor Alethea DeSoto; Carolyn Hansen, American Sign Language; and counselor Kimberly Christoff-Mansfield

The affected teachers requested a hearing, but an Administrative Law Judged ruled in favor of the college last week, so the final layoff notices can proceed.

The college has until May 15 to issue final termination notices-- not time to wait for the governor's May revise.

The college could save about $1 million by eliminating these positions -- and the classes that go with them.