District Office News
Special Topics Zoom Series
The next session titled “District Facilities Master Planning for the Next Decade: Priorities & Challenges” will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 from 2:30-3:30 p.m.
On the Special Topics Zoom Series website you can find schedules and Zoom links, feedback form, and recordings of previous presentations.
Chancellor’s Open Door
As a reminder, Chancellor Pan will be on campus, monthly, to meet and interact with faculty, staff, and students who would like to stop by during the “Open Door” period. Below are the upcoming dates/times. No appointment is necessary.
Woodland Community College, Academic Senate Office
Thursday, March 7, 2024
From 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
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Yuba College, Staff Lounge
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
From 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
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District Office, Chancellor’s Office
Friday, March 22, 2024
From 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Next Regular Board Meeting
The Board of Trustees will meet for their regular meeting on Thursday, March 14, 2024 at Lake County Campus. The agenda will be released 72-hours prior to the meeting here.
District Holiday Closures
Monday, April 1, 2024
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Friday, April 5, 2024
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Yuba College News
Congratulations to President Dotson for receiving the 2024 Adult and Higher Education (AHE) Distinguished Alumni Award from Oregon State University’s School of Education (OSU). The annual award recognizes prominent alumnus who have made distinct and transformative contributions to the field of higher education. You can read more information regarding the honor from Lake County News.
Happenings around the college
March 1: Symphonic and Jazz Bands Outreach Concert at Lindhurst High School, 7:00 p.m.
March 4: Baseball vs. College of Marin, 2:00 p.m.
March 5: Baseball vs. Mendocino, 2:00 p.m.
March 12: Baseball vs. Laney College, 2:30 pm
March 12: Tuesday Noon Recital, YC-Marysville Theatre
May 3: Spring Instrumental Concert, featuring Symphonic and Jazz Bands, YC-Marysville Theatre, 7:00 p.m.
May 17: Music Department Extravaganza, featuring student soloists, Guitar Ensemble, and Concert Choir, YC-Marysville Theatre, 7:00 p.m.
Full Yuba College sports schedules are linked here.
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Woodland Community College News
At the February 8, 2024 Board Meeting, Trustee Burbank presented the Continuing Resolution Recognizing March 2024 as National Women’s History Month to Lorena Navarro, MESA Director at Woodland Community College, and students Maria Barajas, Dua Hassan, Carina Lopez, Samriya Khadka.
On February 20, the Woodland City Council honored the men’s soccer team with a proclamation to commemorate their championship season. As you may recall, the team won the Bay Valley Conference Championship and Coach Andres Olmedo was awarded Coach of the Year.
Save the date! Eagles of Excellence celebration is scheduled for Friday, April 12. This event helps to raise funds for Woodland Community College students while honoring individuals for their contributions:
- Raymond Sandoval – Classified
- Elyse Doyle-Martinez – Community Member
- Christina Thomas – Alumni
- Paul Dilley – Faculty
- James Schulte – Faculty
More information on this event can be found here: https://wcc.yccd.edu/about/foundation/.
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Fiscal Update
(The State faces serious budget shortfalls for 2024-2025. This update is a bit long. It is provided here for general awareness. As more specific fiscal information becomes available, we will keep District community updated).
Governor Newsom’s 2024-25 budget proposes a 6% decrease in the state budget to $291.5 billion, with a $37.9 billion deficit. General Fund spending would decrease by nearly 8% to $208.7 billion. The California Community Colleges budget aims for stability, utilizing reserves and canceling certain projects, with a net decrease of approximately $3.6 million. The Governor’s proposal includes ongoing policy adjustments, a small COLA, and funding for nursing program expansion. Proposition 98 estimates are revised down, with community colleges facing withdrawals from the Public School System Stabilization Account. Due to lower revenues than anticipated, the state must decrease the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee by $8 billion in 2022-23. To prevent reductions in funding for schools and community colleges in 2022-23, the Governor suggests using non-Proposition 98 funds from 2025-26 through 2029-30.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) is a nonpartisan organization in California that provides fiscal and policy information, analysis, and advice to the California State Legislature. The LAO helps lawmakers understand the financial implications and policy impacts of proposed legislation, budget proposals, and other legislative actions. Their goal is to support informed decision-making by legislators and promote effective and efficient government in California.
LAO published their overview on the Governor’s Proposed budget. They estimate the administration addressed a larger budget problem of $58 billion, compared to the Governor’s cited deficit of $38 billion. The administration designated a $15 billion reduction in school and community college spending as a baseline change, among other adjustments, accounted for a significant portion of this difference. If these adjustments were considered policy choices instead of baseline changes, the total budget problem would amount to $58 billion.
LAO’s assessment indicates a net difference on the state deficit is about $10 billion between the LAO and Administration’s budget problems. This discrepancy primarily arises from the Governor’s revenue forecasts, which are approximately $15 billion higher. Additionally, the Governor’s allocation of $3.4 billion for unexpected costs and introduction of over $2 billion in new discretionary proposals further enlarges the budget problem, necessitating additional solutions.
The LAO’s updated estimate reveals a $15 billion increase in the budget problem. The current budget deficit stands at $58 billion under the administration’s January forecast. However, recent revenue data indicates a greater shortfall, about $24 billion below the Governor’s budget for 2022-23 to 2024-25. This could raise the budget problem to $73 billion for the May Revision.
To address this budget problem, the Legislature will need new solutions totaling $15 billion. This includes revenue boosts, spending cuts (both one-time and ongoing), and tools like reserves. LAO suggests reviewing recent one-time and temporary spending for reductions as an initial step. Reducing one-time spending now could help avoid such drastic measures later. California allocated significant surpluses to temporary spending in recent years. After accounting for disbursed funds and proposed reductions, there’s a potential to pull back $16 billion.
Based on LAO’s updated revenue estimates, they posted a set of recommendations for California Community College budget recommendations for the legislature to grapple with.
$8 Billion Issue: Governor’s Budget Maneuver
The Governor proposes a significant budget maneuver to address the reduction in the 2022-23 Proposition 98 minimum guarantee. This plan involves reclassifying $8 billion in Proposition 98 General Fund payments, previously made to schools and community colleges, as non-Proposition 98 payments. Of this amount, $910 million would be attributed to community colleges. These funds would be removed from the state’s books in 2022-23 and recognized back in even increments spread across 2025-26 through 2029-30. This strategy aims to align spending with the revised guarantee without reducing previous funding provided to colleges. Instead, the impact would be felt entirely on the non-Proposition 98 side of the budget starting in 2025-26. Essentially, the state would be borrowing from future non-Proposition 98 funds to cover 2022-23 school and college spending. This mechanism is considered a borrowing from the state without accruing interest.
Use Proposition 98 Reserves to Address 2022-23 Minimum Guarantee Drop
Instead of the Governor’s proposed maneuver, LAO recommends using Proposition 98 reserves to address the substantial decline in the 2022-23 minimum guarantee. This approach aligns with existing legal frameworks, avoids setting problematic fiscal precedents, and does not exacerbate future state budget deficits. It also upholds the original rationale for creating the Proposition 98 Reserve account.
Identify Additional CCC Budget Solutions for 2023-24 Minimum Guarantee Drop
Based on estimates for the 2023-24 minimum guarantee, the Legislature faces an approximately $800 million gap between available Proposition 98 CCC funding and existing spending. If Proposition 98 reserves were used to address the 2022-23 situation, approximately $175 million would remain for CCC program spending in 2023-24. LAO suggests to the Legislature to explore additional potential Proposition 98 budget solutions, including unallocated funds from recent CCC initiatives, which could yield enough savings to cover the entire CCC budget gap in 2023-24.
Maintain Flat Core CCC Spending in 2024-25
To address the 2024-25 CCC budget, LAO recommends maintaining ongoing CCC spending at current levels. This includes not providing a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) to apportionments or any categorical programs. In times of multiyear deficits, containing spending becomes crucial, and focusing on core instructional costs should be a priority to avoid disruptions to essential services.
Pursue Ongoing General Fund Savings
Should Proposition 98 reserves be depleted and all other options exhausted, the Legislature may face ongoing Proposition 98 CCC budget challenges. In such cases, LAO recommends exploring savings by eliminating state support for non-core programs like athletics and enrichment classes, as well as reconsidering fee waivers for non-financially needy students. These measures could yield ongoing General Fund savings while minimizing impacts on core programs and low-income students.
Non-Proposition 98 Proposals
Total funding for CCC in 2024-25 is set to increase to $18.4 billion, a 2.8% rise from the revised 2023-24 level. This includes a 9% increase ($55 million) in non-Proposition 98 General Fund support, primarily due to higher debt service payments for CCC facilities.
Increase CCC Enrollment Fees and Sweep 2022-23 Growth Funds
The Governor proposes no increase in CCC enrollment fees for 2024-25, keeping them flat at $46 per unit since summer 2012. This equates to $1,380 per year for students taking 30 units which the national average cost for community college is around $5,100 per year and therefore the legislature can consider raising the per unit fee to $50. Additionally, LAO recommends using any unearned 2022-23 enrollment growth funds to address shortfalls in apportionment funding.
Consider Future Decisions on Growth Funding
Using updated enrollment and funding data, the Legislature should decide on CCC enrollment growth for 2024-25. If districts show growth in 2023-24, the proposed growth funding could be deemed appropriate. However, given the state’s significant budget problem, LAO advises against providing growth funding if updated revenue estimates in May suggest a worsening budget situation.
Reject Proposal, Revisit Funding Next Year
As an initial step to address lowered minimum guarantee estimates, LAO suggests that the Legislature refrain from providing a COLA to CCC apportionments or categorical programs in 2024-25. This move would save $78 million in Proposition 98 General Fund compared to the Governor’s budget, avoiding reliance on one-time reserves and setting the stage for more favorable choices in 2025-26.
What does this mean for Yuba Community College District?
While these issues might find resolution, the potential impacts may be significant for our district. If the state chooses to cut Proposition 98 funding by $8 billion decline in minimum guarantee from 2022-23, this equates to $910 million affecting community colleges, our district could face a reduction of approximately $7 million. Furthermore, as per the LAO’s projected revenue declines for 2023-24 and 2024-25, California Community Colleges could encounter another decrease in the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee, potentially totaling $875 million. This would pose an additional budget challenge of around $6.7 million for the district. Moreover, the Governor’s budget anticipates a deficit of $30 billion from 2025-26 through 2027-28, which will likely affect Proposition 98 and community colleges.
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- —– For current open positions, visit our hiring webpage for more information. —–
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- Mission Statement: Yuba Community College District provides all individuals in our diverse communities access to high-quality, affordable higher education that is responsive to student needs. Our mission is to inspire and advocate for student success through our passion and commitment to teaching, learning, and social justice.
- Vision: Our vision is to empower our students and strengthen our communities by providing equitable, student-centered learning opportunities.
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Would you like to have an event highlighted in a future newsletter? Email dwilliam@yccd.edu for consideration.