Gov. Jerry Brown
The revisions would increase funding for certain key programs and overall have an ameliorating effect on a system that has undergone severe stress after budget cuts following the recession. Nevertheless, the California community college chancellor’s office (CCCCO) warned that, even with the proposed increase in funding, funding levels would still not match their pre-recession levels.
Since Brown announced the 2015-16 budget in January, California found that it will generate several billion more in revenue than the original budget planned for, particularly in Proposition 98 funding, which goes to the K-12 system and community colleges. Prop 98 is funded through a combination of property taxes and the state General Fund.
Despite the windfall, the financial prospects of community college districts are not entirely rosy.
“We have not completely restored access, and college operational budgets are still approximately $750 million below where we were, accounting for inflation. Further, college budgets will face additional stresses in the coming years, as PERS and STRS obligations are scheduled to increase rapidly and the state faces the sunset of Proposition 30 revenues,” Dan Troy, CCCCO vice chancellor wrote in a letter published on the CCCCO website.
Still, the budget increase would represent a turnaround from the dire straits community colleges were in previously. In the depths of the recession, community colleges were forced to cut classes and turn away hundreds of thousands of students.
Jonathan Lightman, executive director of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges (FACCC), said that the cuts endured by community colleges were counterproductive to the state’s economic recovery.
