Delayed budget reduces funding

Sienna Jackson / Roundup

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a roughly $126 billion budget into law Friday that will cut funding for community colleges by $129 million, according to a summary published by the Dept. of Finance published that night.

The reduced funding is in addition to the $840 million owed to California community colleges since July.

“It wasn’t that they deferred the payments, it’s that the money wasn’t there,” said Kathleen BurkeKelly, president of Pierce College.

The roughly $126 billion budget was passed 100 days overdue, four months into the fiscal year.

“It’s too late to undo the damage by this delayed budget,” said Scott Lay, president and CEO of the Community College League of California, a corporately backed non-profit that lobbies for the California Community College system in Sacramento.

“We estimate that [California] community colleges have spent over $5 million in fees and interest to borrow money to compensate for the late budget and cash deferrals the state has imposed on community colleges,” added Lay. “This could have funded 1,200 community college classes, at a time where students are being turned away every day.”

While Pierce College has not needed to borrow money to cover expenses—instead relying on a reserve fund of around $9 million— four other LACCD colleges have borrowed money through the Los Angeles County Office of Education this past year.

Burke-Kelly said that with Pierce’s reserve fund, the college could last without intervention from the state through December. “It’s hard to know what they’ll cut back on. If you’re funded by the state, they can come back and take that funding from you,” she said. The budget’s late approval also froze Cal Grant payments for more than 60 percent of community college students for the fall semester. Even with the budget passed, it is uncertain of how soon money will reach colleges or their students.

“Considering how bad the budget situation is in California, I think we’ve done as well as can be expected,” said Burke-Kelly.

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