Budget Update
It’s that time of year again. Governor Arnold has released the Proposed State Budget for 2006-2007. How does it look for Cuesta and other community colleges? Here’s a brief summary:
The Governor proposes to increase the Proposition 98 base for the community colleges by approximately $606 million—an 11.6% increase from 2005-2006 funding. The community college share of Proposition 98 is estimated at $10.79% for 2006-2007 compared to 10.46% for 2005-2006.
What the Governor's proposed budget means for our District?
| 1. | The budget for the community system for COLA is $264.6 million—that is approximately 5.18% COLA for general apportionment. If the budget for COLA was adopted, the District would receive approximately $1,944,398. |
| 2. | The budget includes 3% enrollment growth funding for the community college system. For 2006-2007; the District’s allowable growth is 3.92%. However, the District would only be funded for 3.02% growth rate. Since the District is declining in enrollment and is projected to have zero growth for 2006-2007, the District would not receive growth funding. Hence, the District would lose about $1,016,649 for the 2006-2007 budget. |
| 3. | The Governor proposes $130 million for equalization for the community college system. If the proposed budget for equalization was adopted, the District would receive approximately $1,019,256. |
| 4. | The Governor proposes a 5.18% COLA and 1.74% growth for specified categorical programs. If these amounts were adopted, the District’s budget for Matriculation, EOPS/CARE, and DSPS would increase. The amount of budget increases could only be spent for these specific categorical programs. |
The overall budget for the community college system is positive and encouraging. However, the Governor’s proposed budget does not include funding for a Property Tax Backfill, Mandate Reimbursements, and one-time funding for Instructional Equipment and Physical Plant