Budget Advisory Committee

Senate Chambers

2:30 p.m.

1. Approval of October 24, 2000 Minutes- Attachment A
2. Continuation Discussion on Fiscal Measures- Attachment B

(R. Root)

3. Overview of Fiscal Solvency Report- Attachment C

(R.Root)

SANTA ROSA JUNIOR COLLEGE

BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Tuesday, November 28, 2000

Senate Chambers, 2:30 p.m.

The meeting was called to order by Ron Root, Chair; Barbara Croteau (Co-Chair).

Members present: Luann Campbell, Micca Gray, Xuan Ho, Maryanne Michaels, Deborah Sweitzer, Sandi Tassano.

Members absent: M. Bennett (Ex-Officio), Craig Butcher, Andrew Glass, M. Lee, Larry Stimach, Caroline Tice, Mabruka Yazidi.

Also present: Robert Agrella.

Staff to the Committee: E. Cichocki, R. Kyle.

1. Ron Root advised members that the District and Foundation audits will be reviewed by the Board Finance Committee and taken to the December Board meeting for acceptance. The initial draft audit indicates no substantive material findings. There are some procedural citations, which are typically welcomed by the District.

2. There will not be a December BAC meeting. The next meeting will be January 23, 2001, 2:30 p.m., Senate Chambers. A tentative meeting also has been scheduled on January 30, 2001, 2:30 p.m., Senate Chambers, if needed to conclude prior business.

3. Ron Root gave an update on the status of the Full-Time/Part-Time Faculty Five Year Plan. The draft was sent forward to IPC, who distributed copies to representatives of student government, Academic Senate, and Classified Senate. Ron will appear at the next Academic Senate meeting to answer questions. The constituent groups will forward feedback to IPC, who will make a recommendation to the President, and it will likely be forwarded to the Board in January. Because the Department of Finance will not support the plan development as a mandated cost, there is no longer a requirement to submit the plan to the Chancellor's Office. However, Districts are still being encouraged to go forward with the process because it permits dialogue in the campus community.

October 24, 2000 Minutes were adopted without comment or objection.

Ron Root led a continuation of last meeting's discussions of fiscal measures and the fiscal solvency report. The focus of this meeting was to be on key measures to use as a part of a process for sharing data with the campus community. A subcommittee formed at the prior meeting and comprised of Deborah Sweitzer, Micca Gray, Maryanne Michaels and Ron Root met to further discuss the topic. Distributed with the agenda was the "Fact Book Preliminary Outline #2," a template of measures from IPC defining the status of the institution, to which items of interest across the campus community can be added as they are identified.

Additionally, committee feedback was solicited on the "Fiscal Solvency Study" draft outline also included with the agenda. The Board requested a report from the President by March 1, 2001 on the long-term fiscal solvency of the college, which came about as a result of last summer's budget presentation that indicated a possible decline in the fund balance. The framework for presenting the report has yet to be determined. BAC will help structure items in these two areas.

The evolving budget for statewide community colleges will be considered; for example, changes to P4E funding and a proposed new $75 million program for part-time faculty adjustments. By the time the report is issued, the governor's budget recommendation will be known and factored into it. To avoid the mystery associated with budget assumptions, the committee will look at factors, trends, and patterns for financial activity and capital outlay for the past ten to twenty years. What assumptions were made that were not correct? What can be done to improve them? What kind of fund balance is a healthy number? In relationship to what? Where did the fund balance come from? Is there a consistent pattern in growth or decline of the fund balance? A broader question is whether the fund balance will continue to decline.

The cost to produce FTE must be examined. Because the budget number is growing consistently, the campus community sometimes doesn't understand why college resources are dwindling. What kinds of measures could be used to identify the number of students in high technology areas as a percentage of FTE? Because technology is changing so rapidly, how valuable is long range planning? Can the college form partnerships with business to see how both can be successful? It would be valuable to understand what portion of SRJC's students receive financial aid and to see information on the number of credit units that are BOGG fee waivers.

The fact book will be automated, updated regularly, and available on the Web. Details will be worked out among the components.

Ron Root will pull together information with graphs and spreadsheets to present to the committee for review in January: data, patterns, and trends in enrollment, revenue, expenditures, and capital outlay. The fiscal solvency report may be the first step in a multiple stage effort. Questions that need to be explored further will be addressed, which may lead to steps of political action or special studies.

Meeting adjourned: 4:10 p.m.