About 100 Renton Technical College English as a Second Language students planned to meet with state representatives in Olympia Thursday to seek state funding for ESL.

More than 100 students protested RTC’s recent and impending ESL cuts at the Highlands campus March 10. The students shared their disappointment about the cuts with RTC’s Board of Trustees during that protest, and the board recommended the students seek help in Olympia.

Thursday’s trip was coordinated by RTC instructors, a teacher’s union and most of all RTC students.

“It was certainly the students’ idea to go to the Board of Trustees meeting, and they took it pretty literally when the Board of Trustees suggested they go to Olympia,” said Jenna Pollock. She coordinates civics education for ESL students at RTC.

The RTC group was scheduled to meet Thursday with Bob Hasegawa and Zachary Hudgins, state representatives for the 11th Legislative District.

RTC eliminated 21 ESL classes during the winter quarter that ended this week, and the school will cut 18 more classes during spring quarter. The cuts are part of hundreds of thousands of dollars the college is cutting from its budget this year.