Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a)
The State funding plan for public community colleges should be based upon the
following principles:
1) Instruction which
generates credit hours should be divided into categories determined on the
basis of local and State purpose and on relative statewide unit
costs;
2) Non-credit hour
activities included in the missions of the community colleges should be
considered a separate category. This includes community education, public
service, and research activities;
3) For every instructional category
generating credit hours the State will make flat grants per credit hour for a
certain percentage of the difference between:
A) The statewide average cost in the system
for that category, as adjusted for inflation, marginal cost savings, and
productivity savings, and
B) The
standard local contribution calculated from statewide average property taxes,
tuition and fees, and other local revenues.
4) Either State or local financial resources
should be provided for all categories. The State should fund a lower percentage
of the difference between statewide average costs and the standard local
contribution for credit hours in general studies categories other than
vocational and remedial;
5)
Additional financing for categories more locally oriented and total costs for
activities in the non-credit hour category can be funded from local taxes,
tuition and fees, and other revenues, including the special source described in
(f);
6) One cent less than the
average statewide tax rate should be used in determining the standard local
contribution. This amount is intended to support a portion of the difference
between the statewide cost of locally-oriented instructional categories plus
the total cost of the non-credit category;
7) Special grants should also be funded by
the State, as follows:
A) Equalization grants
should be provided for districts unable to raise the portion of the standard
local contribution funded by property taxes, using the statewide median tax
rate. This method of equalization is thus built into the basic flat grant
funding approach, and
B) Grants for
the educationally disadvantaged student should be provided to all districts for
a portion of the added costs of such education.
b) State and federal vocational education
grants distributed through State agencies should be counted as part of State
support for community college operations.
c) Local districts should be permitted to
levy a 171/2 cent (per $100 Equalized Assessed Valuation) educational fund tax
rate and a 5 cent (per $100 Equalized Assessed Valuation) building and
maintenance fund tax rate.
d)
Enrollments for funding purposes should be counted at midterm. This should not
prevent consideration of earlier payments of projected college claims to ease
cash flow problems.
e) Either in
1980, or when State expenditures for community college operations exceed 50
percent of total operating costs, a committee should be appointed to review
community college financing.
f)
Procedures should be developed to integrate specific district enrollment
projections into the funding mechanism so that financial planning at the State
and local levels may be improved.
