In a little over a year, Las Positas College has shaved nearly $3 million off its budget deficit, according to the school’s latest projections.
The last calendar year began with worries over the deficit exploding to $5 million, as reported by The Express in February 2025. But entering this semester, LPC is projecting a $2.12 million budget deficit — an almost $1 million improvement from the last fiscal year’s projection.
The tentative budget that went to the board of trustees this June projected the school’s income at $52.24 million. The estimated expenses at the end of this fiscal year: $54.36 million.
“These preliminary estimates are based on pursuing enrollment growth up to the point where we could exit hold harmless,” said Sean Brooks, LPC’s vice president of administrative services. “Additional revenues coupled with careful review of expenditures will help to offset future deficits and assist in normalizing our budget over the next few years.”
LPC reported a budget deficit of $1.3 million at the end of the 2023-24 school year. But by the end of the following year, it rose to nearly $4 million. The initial boom was due to investment in expanding course offerings and programs to increase future revenue. In April 2025, the school announced a hiring freeze, one of the early responses to the deficit. Shortly after that, the school received word it would lose nearly $2 million in federal funding due to cuts by the Trump Administration for Hispanic Serving Institution.
Since then, LPC’s been on a mission to get money.
First, it exited the state’s hold-harmless funding plan — which locked in Las Positas’ funding at its pre-pandemic numbers. The school reached benchmarks that allowed it to remove the funding cap and receive the state’s Cost of Living Adjustment that was expected to provide upwards of $1 million in funds. According to Brooks, the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District collectively brought in an additional $2.4 million after exiting hold-harmless, and the funds are yet to be allocated to both Las Positas and Chabot College.
LPC also added a third semester, a winter intersession. Its debut drew 1,300 students, proving to be an effective revenue generator. The intersession helped fast-track completion, and LPC saw the highest number of degrees ever awarded at the school just this past commencement. The new compressed calendar going into effect this semester creates more breathing room for the four-week semester.
Since the end of the 2025 spring semester, Las Positas has seen enrollment increases in each semester. Summer enrollment expanded by more than 400 students in 2025. The fall 2025 semester saw 634 more students than fall 2024. This past spring, 8,567 enrolled — up from 8,007 a year earlier. Including the winter intersession enrollment, Las Positas totaled 12,924 students in the 2025-26 school year — a 6.6% increase over the 12,126 total from 2024-25.
After over 12 months of enduring debt to boost revenue streams, the school’s plan to “invest in students” seems to be paying off. Increases in enrollment, grants received and record-high degree completion fueled the financial recovery.
The shrinking deficit doesn’t end the school’s fiscal workload. LPC is entering a cautious period of rebalancing. The school’s expenses are still an estimated $2.12 million higher than the income it brings in.
According to LPC President Dyrell Foster, supporting a growing student body through the tail end of financial restraint is all about maximizing efficiency. Students can expect their demand to drive course cuts and additions.
“Students are still going to find low-enrolled classes will probably be canceled,” Foster said. “And there’s still going to be courses that have waitlists that we’re not able to meet. But aside from that, our programs, our support services, tutoring, our special programs — all of those remain fully funded.”
NO CUTS are planned for the school, according to President Dyrell Foster. But the school is being conservative about spending even though a significant chunk of the deficit has been erased. (The Express archives).
Under the state’s Student Centered Funding Formula, LPC receives income based on the number of students enrolled, financial aid recipients and degrees and certificates attained. Student success is paramount to the school’s funding, ensuring LPC acts in their best interest.
Through SCFF, districts are typically funded based on a three-year enrollment average. The California governor’s 2026-27 budget, approved in June, gives districts the choice to be funded based on the current year’s enrollment instead. That means LPC’s recent increase in head count affords them more funding immediately.
The deficit could get even smaller pretty soon.
“We’ll bring an adopted budget back to the board in September,” Foster said. “We expect as a district that there will be some positive financial news as part of that budget, which I’m hoping from the LPC perspective may reduce that projected deficit for 2026-27 down from the $2 million.”
The school’s biggest expense lies in employee salaries and benefits. According to salary-tracking database Transparent California, total packages for full-time instructors often exceed $200,000. In March, the board of trustees approved a collective bargaining agreement implementing across-the-board salary increases for the 2026-27 fiscal year. This year’s tentative budget projects an increase of about $1.65 million for academic and classified salaries, which includes benefits and retroactive pay.
In December 2025, the district offered an early retirement plan for eligible employees to retire this June, which at least two LPC prominent employees opted for. LPC hasn’t filled the position of retiree Terrance Thomas, who was the school’s career and transfer center coordinator for 14 years. According to Brooks, the retirement packages were a cost savings mechanism to further trim the structural deficit.
“As always, we are continuing to look for ways to improve our expenses and be as efficient as possible,” Brooks said. “The goal is to continue to stabilize enrollment and provide student resources to aid in completing education faster.”
Foster said current employees aren’t in danger of cuts, but the school remains conservative with filling vacant positions and funding activities, such as trips.
“I want students to know that we’re not making any significant cuts that would impact them in any direct way,” Foster said. “Our commitment is really about access, success and completion. The reduction in the budget (deficit) for us is just about being thoughtful.”
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TOP ILLUSTRATION: LPC President Dyrell Foster said the school is projecting a $2.12M budget deficit for the 2026-27 fiscal year, an almost $1 million improvement from the last year’s projection. The school expects the adopted budget will reflect further improvement, as it will now receive funding based on the current year’s enrollment high. (Photo by Sophia Sucato // The Express // Illustration by Habibur Rahman // Special to The Express)
Jaxyn Good is a staff writer for The Express. Follow her on Instagram @jaxyngood
