By Dylan Paoli CCCAST Director of Education and Outreach

 California has an incremental budget process. This means that specific agencies will request increased funding for one fiscal year based on what was allocated from the previous fiscal year.  This works when we have a large budget but during any economic hardship the budget becomes a political battleground.

 It takes about 18 months to plan the Budget.  Negotiations between the governor’s office, agency staff, department heads, and the department of Finance take nearly a year to complete the budget.  Then it is submitted to the legislature by January.  Then from January till May it is reviewed by the legislature

 The governor releases the May Revision which includes new spending priorities, and an updated revenue estimate.  The legislature has till the constitutional deadline of June 15 to pass it with a 2/3 majority vote.  Then the governor has to sign it before July 1 st, the beginning of California’s fiscal year.

 Total funding for the California Community Colleges in is $7.7 billion. This is an increase of 12 percent compared to the fiscal year.  With more than 2.1 million students on 113 campuses, the California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the United States.

 Community Colleges receive funding based on their number of Full-time Equivalent Student (FTES).  Any student taking 15 units is considered 1 FTES.  FTES can be split between multiple students, meaning if one student takes 12 units and another take 12, together they account for 1.6 FTES.

 California’s community colleges have a total of 1, 120,913 for credit FTES, and 68,741 non-credit FTES  District receives $4,676 for credit, $2,836 for non-credit

 The general fund is split between restricted and unrestricted funds.  The unrestricted general fund consists of revenue received to run the basic educational program.  The restricted general fund consists of revenue received for specific and limited purposes.  Encroachment is the expenditure of unrestricted funds in support of a restricted program.

 "Key Facts about California Community Colleges." Key Facts. California State Governement, 07 Oct Web. 09 Nov  Lawrence, David G. "Budget Policy: The Cost of Diversity." California The Politics of Diversity. 6th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Print.