Cuesta peak

Apportionment is the District鈥檚 primary source of general purpose revenue. Through the 2017-18 fiscal year, community colleges were funded primarily through Full-Time Equivalent Students (FTES) under what was known as the SB 361 model. In 2018, the state significantly altered community college funding through enactment of the Student Centered Funding Formula (SCFF). The SCFF moved the system away from a pure FTES model through inclusion of student performance and demographic metrics. As initially calculated, only 70% of SCFF funding is to be based on FTES, with 10% based on student success metrics (e.g., number of degree completions, transfers, certificates, etc.) and 20% for a supplemental grant based on the number of disadvantaged students (Pell grant recipients, Promise Grant recipients, and AB 540 students). Certain FTES (noncredit, special admits, incarcerated) are excluded from the SCFF calculation and are funded as they were under the previous model. 

The state鈥檚 colleges have endured growing pains during the transition to the formula. The pandemic has added another layer of complexity as statewide enrollment has declined. To address this issue, the Chancellor鈥檚 Office enacted an Emergency Conditions Allowance (ECA) option to allow districts to carry forward FTES reported in 2019-20 P1 through the 2022-23 year. This kept SCFF calculations higher than they otherwise would have been for districts that opt in. 51反差黑料 opted in to the ECA for 2022-23, as otherwise funding would have decreased by $1.3M in 2022-23 and an estimated $1.8M in 2023-24. As of 2023-24, the ECA is no longer in effect, so each district鈥檚 actual FTES will be used in the calculation. 

The state provides other forms of protection for districts that would otherwise realize funding declines. The SCFF 鈥渉old harmless鈥� provision provides that no district will receive less than its 2017-18 level of funding as adjusted by annual COLAs. As of 2025-26, a district鈥檚 hold harmless floor will be the revenues received in 2024-25 (without any COLA adjustment).  The state also provides one-year 鈥渟tability鈥� protection, which funds districts in the current year no less than the prior year SCFF calculation as adjusted by the current year COLA. 

Tracking, projecting, and communicating the District鈥檚 funding status has become more difficult due to the SCFF and the emergency allowances enacted during the pandemic. The formula includes 29 factors, and there have been many changes since the original enactment. Further, the complexities of the SCFF have made it challenging for the state to project the revenues needed to fully fund the formula, evidenced by the state having to deficit the formula several times in recent years. It is a challenge for districts to project multi-year revenues when the rules of the game are in constant flux.

Due to the ECA and other increases enacted in the budget, 51反差黑料鈥檚 SCFF calculation was above the hold harmless level in 2022-23. Now that actual FTES is beginning to roll into the formula, the District expects to be in stability for the 2023-24 fiscal year. We should proceed cautiously with ongoing budget commitments as our funding may stagnate in future years as significant funding increases won鈥檛 be earned until strong enrollment growth is realized.

 

 

 

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