College of the Desert Budget Realities [Sponsored]

Where We Are and Where We Are Headed [Sponsored]

On September 20, 2024, College of the Desert’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the budget for the fiscal year 2024/25. This comes on the heels of nearly nine months of hard work from College of the Desert’s Administrative Services team, which has been monitoring State and regional funding deficits and preparing to respond.

Items contributing to California’s deficit include the California unemployment rate, slowing housing market, and volatility in the stock market. Due to one-time funding opportunities from the Governor’s Office and other shortfall mitigation strategies, COD’s budget realities are not as bleak as initially predicted; however, there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve restoration and growth and respond to deficits that have been ‘kicked down the road’ by the State.

The budget overview for California’s community colleges from the Governor’s Office includes no major reductions to programs or services and drawing on reserves and operational savings. This results in a slight increase to ongoing investments, the overall cost of living adjustment, and cost of living adjustment for certain programs, paired with a series of one-time funds.

Additional results of the Governor’s budget are deferrals of funds and a “claw back” of unspent funds that were earmarked for Strong Workforce Development and the Student Success Completion Grant. Much of COD’s Strong Workforce Development funds were already spent so the Administrative Services Department will continue to work with the Chancellor’s Office of California Community Colleges to identity the funds they need.

At this time, COD is looking at an estimated deficit of 2.51% or $2.3M. The newly approved 2024/25 budget seeks to address this, with much emphasis being placed on full-time equivalent student (FTES) numbers. COD is funded, in part, by student enrollment. Through studies, COD has determined that the biggest opportunities for growth in FTES are Career Development & College Prep and College and Career Access Pathways.

“I’m grateful for the talented team we have at College of the Desert,” said Rod Garcia, Vice President of Administrative Services. “We have looked at State and local deficits and our own expenses from every angle and put together a plan that, with the help of the entire College of the Desert community, has the potential to carry us through these turbulent financial times. I’m also grateful for the members of the Board of Trustees for their volunteered time, talent, and commitment to big issues like this.”

The adopted budget revenue for 2024/25 includes 50% state revenue, 37% local property taxes, 10% local fees and revenue and 3% federal revenue. The adopted budget expenses are broken down between many categories with academic salaries and employee benefits taking up the largest pieces of the pie at 28% and 22%.

There are several risks that have been identified such as slow enrollment growth and rising costs of healthcare, utilities and insurance premiums. These are items that COD personnel will be keeping a close eye on.

While this will officially lock in the budget, teeing the College up for the next fiscal year, College of the Desert personnel began taking action to adapt to what is on the horizon since earlier this year. They have been cultivating programs and initiatives that hold the most potential for boosting enrollment.

Such programs include Fast Track Classes, which offer students flexibility and the ability to achieve their academic goals faster; Free Early College, which offer local high school students the opportunity to complete college classes before graduating high school; $5 Textbook Rentals, which reduces more barriers to education for students from all income-levels; and more.

Another opportunity that holds great potential is increasing persistence. It is much cheaper to keep students than find new ones. This involves supporting an environment of inclusivity, expanding class offering times, and encouraging more students to take transfer-level English and math in their first year of college.

While the road ahead poses many challenges, we look forward to continuing to find creative solutions and cultivate key programs that can help us address our budget realities.