California Gov. Jerry Brown’s bold new budget proposal that awards community college districts funding not just for each enrolled student, but also based on the number of low-income students being served, has drawn praise and criticism.
Under the funding formula in the new proposal, a district would receive an incentive grant if it meets performance metrics such as the number of certificates and degrees granted, according to an analysis by The Education Trust – West, the California-based office of a national advocacy group that promotes educational equity for students, particularly poor students and students of color.
The proposed approach would blend the existing enrollment-based funding model with the student-focused and student success funding models.
More than $3 billion would be tied to the enrollment numbers of low-income students attending community college, while about $6.2 billion would be based strictly on the numbers of enrolled students.
If passed by the California Assembly in June, the new proposal will do away with the current funding formula that allocates resources to the state’s 72 community college districts and 114 community colleges based primarily on the number of students who enroll and remain enrolled over time, without regard to completion.
Additional funding is provided in the form of restricted, categorical grants that supports basic skills and equity plans.
In January, Brown released his 2018-19 proposed budget, which included the plan to dramatically change the way California funds its community colleges and serves more than 2.1 million students. This student-focused funding formula would allocate resources based, in part, on student needs and community college district performance.
