Copyright© 2000 by School Services of California, Inc.

November 9, 2000

Changes Made to the Community College's
2001-02 System Budget

The initial recommendations on the 2001-02 System Budget were presented to the Board of Governors (BOG) in September 2000. As a result of discussions with the BOG and the Consultation Council, changes have been proposed that will be discussed at the Board's November meeting in Long Beach.

The initial budget recommendations included $735.4 million in ongoing funds and $173 million in one-time funding. The BOG raised a number of concerns regarding the process for the development of the Budget Change Proposals (BCPs), the criteria for funding any given proposal, and the funding amount in each BCP proposal. After lengthy discussions by the BOG and Consultation Council, the following actions were taken by the Chancellor's Office:

• Support the overall-funding amount of $94.6 million for Tech II with the understanding that, if the state does not fully fund its share of this proposal, the system's highest priority for funding is the local district infrastructure
  
• Concerns were expressed that funding Pell Grants at $12.8 million with Proposition 98 funds is an issue that needs to be addressed by the federal grant. The Chancellor's Office recommendation to shift this proposal to one-time funding, work with the Governor and the Legislature to have this issue addressed by Congress, and review the merits of subsequent year funding in the 2002-03 budget process was supported
  
• An augmentation of $5 million for the Community Service Learning proposal was supported with the understanding that a two year, rather than a three year, phase-in of all community colleges participating in Community Service Learning

The Chancellor's Office will request that the BOG approve a total funding package of $929,307,000 that will be submitted to the Department of Finance for consideration in the Governor's proposed State Budget for 2001-02.

--Arnold Bray