One of the first places lawmakers traditionally start whacking in tough budget years is community colleges. If there is no budget by next Tuesday, college advocates say they will get hit hard. Community colleges will face $840 million in delayed funding without that budget. The Kern Community College District has been forced to dip into its reserve funds. But that money will not last forever.
Students in Mr. Stratton's World Civilization class at Bakersfield College can rest easy because their class will be in session for the rest of the semester. But the same can not be said for all classes within the district. That is because there is still no state budget in place. Tom Burke, Chief Financial Officer of the district says, "Not having those dollars available is very frustrating. The longer it goes on the more challenging it will get for all of us."
About four years ago, the district anticipated cash flow from the state to slow down, so they started building up their reserves. It is money that has been trickling away these past few months as legislators try to hammer out a state budget. "Roughly, through the first 80 plus days, we've dipped into $15 million," says Burke.
Big cuts have also been put in place. The district had to chop 10 percent of its budget this year, or roughly $10 million. Burke notes, "We tried the best we could to reduce our non core type sections. We also looked at all our operations, looked for ways to streamline our operations, make them more efficient." The district says it has enough money to get through May or June.
