CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FACE FURTHER BUDGET CUTS
IN MID-YEAR REDUCTION PLAN

SACRAMENTO - The California Community Colleges are facing a serious financial crisis after today's release of the proposed mid-year budget cuts by Governor Gray Davis. The Administration is proposing a $215 million reduction for the 108 community colleges. The total amount is comprised of three segments:

·-- A $97.5 million cut for the community colleges' total budget in the current year, a 3.66% across-the-board cut for all programs.
·-- A predicted $38 million shortfall in local property taxes, which would not be offset by state funds and therefore result in a $38 million reduction in current-year funding.
·-- An $80 million reduction in apportionments related to concurrent enrollments of K-12 students who are also taking courses at community colleges.

"These cuts are particularly devastating because they occur mid-year," said Chancellor Thomas J. Nussbaum. "Districts have already committed every dollar of the funding they expected to receive, so to cut that funding now is to take away critical student programs and services that we all thought had been spared this year. Our 108 colleges were already operating on bare-bones budgets … this latest round of cuts is on top of the $145.6 million in reductions we already took from the 2001-02 budget. The 2.9 million students who depend on us are going to suffer even more now."

Nussbaum said that he plans to meet with community college organizational leaders early next week to discuss strategy and begin advocacy efforts in relation to the overall budget picture. He said that he appreciates the Governor and Legislature's history of support for community colleges and recognizes that no one wants to impose these devastating cuts. "But unless we and all others involved can help generate the will to attack the huge shortfall with a full spectrum of remedies - including revenue increases, spending deferrals, and smart spending cuts - the cuts announced today will be just the beginning," he said. "We will work with the Administration and the Legislature to fully assess the magnitude of students who will be affected and the impact that this will have on the state. The community colleges can help the state's recovery by making sure business that are ready to grow have the workforce they need - but we cannot do our job without financial support from the state."

Nussbaum also expressed concern over the decision to withhold $80 million in apportionment funding pending an audit of the colleges' concurrent enrollments. Nussbaum said that his office has recently been looking into concerns about specific practices in a few districts. "We are open to the audit and plan to cooperate fully," said Nussbaum. "However, we are concerned that colleges are being found guilty and being penalized before a review of the situation has been completed."