An issue looms at Las Positas College in the form of a budget deficit expected to explode in the years.
LPC ended the 2023-24 academic year with a $1.3 million budget deficit. President Dyrell Foster said it is projected to increase nearly three-fold to $5 million by this June. The deficit comes at the same time as a federal funding freeze, leaving an uncertain future for public colleges nationwide.
Last year, the college brought in around $45.3 million in revenue and had approximately $46.6 million in expenditures, much of which went to employee salaries and benefits. The college also experienced deficits following the 2020 and 2023 fiscal years.
The effects of the deficit aren’t imminent, according to Foster. Still, faculty and administrators at LPC stress the importance of bringing in additional revenue. The goal is to avoid massive layoffs and the elimination of programs. Sonoma State University experienced a similar crisis this year, forcing the school to cut several majors and its Division-II athletics program.
“It’s devastating to hear (about) colleges and universities locally, right in our region, having to do layoffs, closing programs, degree pathways”, Foster said. “We are wanting to mitigate any potential situation for us here at Las Positas College.”
The deficit has a myriad of contributing factors. Some are systemic, such as the Student Centered Funding Formula (SCFF), which Thompson argued is flawed. The SCFF allocates funds to California Community Colleges based on student success, enrollment and financial aid recipients. It is advertised as a more equitable funding model than previous ones.
Prior to the 2018-19 academic year, California enacted SCFF, changing the way funds were allocated to community colleges. Sarah Thompson, a sociology professor at LPC and the Vice President of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges, said the SCFF was developed from a need of funding students in more rural areas of the state.
“I think the SCFF really came from this place of like: ‘How do we funnel more money to the students who really need it?’” she said.
According to Thompson, the SCFF is based on three allocations: one reflecting enrollment numbers, another reflecting the amount of students eligible for financial aid and one reflecting student success based on the number of degrees and certificates awarded.
The main issue with the formula, she said, was its standardized approach to providing funds for community colleges across the state.
The SCFF works in part by defining lower-income students as financial aid recipients. The more financial aid recipients an institution has, the more funding it receives from the state.
“The problem is,” Thompson said, “students who live in high cost-of-living areas, like Livermore, often earn too much for the financial aid thresholds.”
According to the National College Attainment Network, most Federal Pell Grant recipients have a family or personal income of $40,000 or lower. But the average income in Livermore in 2020 was $71,179, per the U.S. Census Bureau.
“I mean you could have students living out of their car that might still make too much money for that kind of threshold,” Thompson said.
Another factor of the SCFF also affects the budget: Full-Time Equivalent Student.
A Full-Time Equivalent Student (FTES) is defined by the California Community College guideline’s as one taking 15 units a semester — which accounted for approximately 16% of LPC students during the fall 2023 semester, according to the school’s data. This calculation makes up 70% of the funding under the SCFF, which Thompson describes as a “very flawed” model because the majority of full-time students at LPC take 12 to 14.5 units.
According to LPC’s registration policies, a student is considered full-time at 12 or more units. This means that the college receives less funding, despite almost half of its students being considered full-time.
Foster said LPC is taking steps to increase student enrollment and “capture more FTES.” Enrolling more students is a way to increase revenue and combat this deficit.
Other plans to increase revenue include expanding the campus through ongoing construction projects. This will allow the campus to serve more students and offer more programs, increasing enrollment.
Foster also said the compressed calendar, tentatively slated to begin this coming fall, will provide more revenue. The current plans to shorten the semester from 17.5 weeks to 16 include a winter intersession — a fourth window during the academic year for students to enroll and take classes.The intersession would mirror a summer session.
Despite the problems with SCFF, such as its standardized approach, Foster said he is hopeful the winter session will allow students to complete their degrees, certificates and goals quicker. This could bring in more state funding based on student success, which makes up the last 20% of the SCFF model.
The challenge, as Foster described, is figuring out which high-demand courses to offer without impacting spring semester enrollment numbers.
Eventually, he’d like to see LPC get off hold-harmless status. The status is a protection against funding cuts despite the declining enrollment numbers most community college districts experienced post-COVID, according to EdSource. Being on hold-harmless allows community colleges to receive funding based on the 2017-18 academic year despite enrollment fluctuation. In order to get off hold-harmless status, a college must see an increase in FTES.
Once off “hold-harmless” status, a cost-of-living-adjustment would be factored into upcoming budgets.
“We are running some numbers and doing some preliminary assessments of what that looks like,” Foster said. “Based on (current metrics), it doesn’t look like we will be off hold-harmless at the end of this academic year, but depending on how things play out … we are assessing potentially (that it) could be at the end of next academic year.”
Another option includes using reserve funding, which LPC used during the last fiscal year. These are additional funds set aside for emergencies and increased expenditures.
Thompson acknowledged her own fears with using reserve funding in the wake of the Trump Administration’s federal funding freeze and plans to gut the Department of Education.
Despite the deficit and his personal worries about it, Foster is confident that LPC will be able to mitigate its effects, while acknowledging the college’s progress. Thompson also expressed confidence.
“We have an incredible administrative team and faculty,” Thompson said, “who are committed (and have) been here for many decades, who committed their lives to this institution. … I have faith in all those people.”
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TOP PHOTO: President Foster said is school looking to offset the budget deficit by increasing revenue through increased enrollment. The $1.3 budget deficit is projected to be upwards of $5 million at the end of the 2025 fiscal year. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/ The Express)
Raina Dent is a Staff Writer for The Express. Follow her on X, formally Twitter, @_rainasafiya
