To: Colleagues
From: Ann-Marie Gabel – Vice Chancellor, Business Services
Date: May 15, 2024
Re: Governor’s 2024-25 May Revision
Last Friday, Governor Newsom presented his “May Revision” budget proposal for the 2024-25 fiscal year totaling $288 billion. The State budget gap has changed from $37.9 billion in January to $27.6 billion in May primarily due to the Early Action Budget package that was passed in April offset by unrecognized State revenues. As detailed out in the “May Revision,” the Governor’s budget addresses deficits in both 2024-25 and 2025-26 by “making spending cuts to government operations, reductions to programs and pauses in new investments,” including utilizing $12.2 billion from the Budget Stabilization Account (aka the Rainy Day Fund), $900 million from the Safety Net Reserve, and $8.4 billion from the Public School System Stabilization Account while leaving $22.8 billion in reserves for future years. Even with all of this, the Governor continues to protect the K-14 system at a greater level than all other units.
Community College Specifics
Funding under Proposition 98 for K-14 education is $109.1 billion which is a $0.8 billion increase from January. Community colleges are slated to receive $12.6 billion in General Fund and local property taxes combined; an overall increase of $218 million from the January budget.
The major components of the community colleges’ budget and the impacts on our District are as follows.
Unrestricted General Fund:
- $100.2 million (1.07%) cost of living adjustment (COLA). This will provide an estimated $2.3 million increase for our DRAC model.
- $28.1 million (0.5%) for enrollment growth. However, due to the loss in emergency conditions allowance, we are projected to be in stability and therefore, will not achieve any growth revenue.
- $.52 million (1.07%) cost of living adjustment (COLA) for mandated cost block grant program. This will provide an estimated $49 thousand increase for our DRAC model.
Restricted Funds:
There are several new one-time allocations proposed for nursing programs and Chancellor’s Office projects related to the Vision 2030 priorities as shown below.
Ongoing Resources:
- $12 million (1.07%) cost of living adjustment (COLA) for Adult Education, Apprenticeship, EOPS, CARE, DSPS, CalWORKS, and Child Care Tax Bailout. This will provide an estimated $128 thousand increase to our programs.
One-Time Resources:
- $60 million to expand nursing programs and Bachelor of Science Nursing partnerships. The funding methodology will be negotiated through the legislative trailer bill process.
- $12 million to expand the eTranscript California project.
- $12 million to continue the common cloud data platform demonstration project.
- $6 million for mapping pathways for Credit for Prior Learning. These funds would be allocated through a competitive grant process.
- $5 million for educational pathways for low-income workers in the United Domestic Workers (UDW).
The District will incorporate these proposals into our DRAC model for the Tentative Budget and will discuss them at the District Resources Allocation Council (DRAC) on May 17, 2024. The Tentative Budget will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval at the June 24, 2024, meeting.
At the State level, the budget talks will now pick up speed within the legislature. We can expect budget proposals from both the Senate and Assembly within the next couple of weeks. It is highly likely that the Legislatures’ budgets will contain details vastly different from the Governor’s budget since they do not agree with some of the budget tactics taken by the Governor. Those line items will go to the Conference Committee for resolution. It is anticipated that we will have a final State budget by the June 15 legislative deadline. We will incorporate all the changes appearing in the final State budget into our Adopted Budget which will be submitted to the Board of Trustees for approval at the August 26, 2024, meeting.
Individuals who want more information on the budget, can view the Joint Analysis once released, that is prepared by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, Association of Chief Business Officials (ACBO), Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA), and the Community College League of California (CCLC) and the Governor’s 2024-25 May Revision Budget Summary
Vice Chancellor Gabel can be reached via email at agabel@socccd.edu.