February 2005 Hail to the New, Hail to the Old! - SCFT Local 1533

California Community College
Budget Proposals
IiHE
CALIFORNIA DIRECTOR OF FINANCE (DOF)
report on state budget reveals the usual mix of
good and bad news for the community
colleges. Though there is many a slip between
the revenues cup and the college budget lip,
some light shines in our direction through the
overall budget proposals.
The DOF warns that the budget "gap" for
2005-2006 could be about $9 billion, a
contingency the Governor proposes to meet by
reducing spending broadly across the board.
The voter-authorized bond measure
"borrowing" (Proposition 57) continues to be a
last best hope for state officials. The
Governor's budget proposes no new taxes.
The Governor's budget does include an
increase for community colleges from
Proposition 98 funds. The proposed 7.4
increase represents a $373 million boost, which
includes a $195.5 million cost-of-living
adjustment (i.e. +3.93% COLA), a $136
million for enrollment growth (+3%), a
statutory enrollment growth funding of 1.89%
plus the 3.93% COLA increase for basic skills,
EOPS, DSPS, and matriculation, a "set-aside"
of $31.4 million for possible reinstatement of
Partnership in Excellence Funds vetoed last
year. (This particular proposal will be reviewed
by the Board of Governors, which is expected
to issue a recommendation on "the issue of
accountability. ")
The budget does not cover additional
funding in response to certain requests from
the System's Budget Request, excluding fund
increase for equalization and increase in
noncredit rate.
There is a $20 million one-time increase for
articulating vocational course-work between
community colleges and K-12, expanding the
"2+2" program. This proposal is under
consideration by the state Department of
Education.
There is no proposal for an increase in
community college students' fees.
In terms of capital outlay, the budget
proposes $263 million from state bond funds
for the fifty community colleges.
All of the above represent initial proposals,
a start of deliberations on budget issues in
Sacramento. The California Federation of
Teachers will be representing the interests of
faculty and the colleges in general throughout
that process.
Budget documents are available at the
Department of Finance website
(http://www.dof.ca.gov).
Will We Be Negotiating STRS
Contribution Rates
A potential problem for all of us could be
the Governor's proposal to offset the above
funding increases with a termination of the
state's contributions to the State Teachers'
Retirement System. The community colleges
themselves will be asked to make up the
difference, costs estimated by CFT' s
Community College Council to be statewide
almost $40 million. The CCC understands
this to mean that the additional costs could be
split between employers and employees
requiring collective bargaining decisions.
[2] Federalist