Foothill Fiscal FAQs

Foothill College - Fiscal FAQs

Definitions

For a complete set of definitions, see the glossary section of the District’s budget report.

1320 Budget

The 1320 budget is the amount that Foothill gets each year from the District to cover the salaries of part-time faculty. For the last two years, Foothill College has been supplementing our 1320 budget with $1.4M for 2022-23 and approximately $1.8 M for 2023-24 from our college carryover funds. This allowed us to offer significantly more sections than we were funded for.

50% Law

The “Fifty Percent Law” (50% Law), as defined in Education Code Section 84362 and California Code of Regulations Section 59200 et seq., requires each district to spend at least half of its current expense of education each fiscal year for salaries and benefits of classroom instructors. Read more about the Fifty Percent Law.

Basic Aid/ Community Supported

A district becomes “basic aid” or “community-supported” when its share of local property taxes plus student enrollment fees exceeds the state funding guarantee as determined by the state formula. Community-supported districts do not receive state apportionment funds based on the SCFF, but instead they get to keep the higher revenues as local property tax values accumulate above the state apportionment amount for their district.

Career Development and College Preparation (CDCP)

Career Development and College Preparation (CDCP) – CDCP are non-credit courses specifically designated as CDCP through the curriculum process (and are noted on the Course Outline of Record as such). They are part of a non-credit Career and Technical Education degree or certificate.

Categorical Funds

Categorical funds are funds that come from state or federal agencies that are restricted for a specific purpose. These programs include the SEA (Student Equity and Achievement), Strong Workforce, DSP&S, EOPS, SFAA (Student Financial Aid Administration), Basic Needs Center, Mental Health Program, California College Promise, Perkins, TANF, etc.

Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) tion (CDCP)

Increases provided in state-funded programs intended to offset the effects of inflation.

Education Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF))

The ERAF statute from the California State Legislature (1992) redirects a portion of property taxes statewide from cities, counties and special districts to local school districts and community college districts, reducing the demands on the state’s General Fund. For the 2024-25 Tentative FHDA Budget, the District is projected to have “negative ERAF” of about -$26 million. In this situation, the County is projected to use $26 million of the reported local property taxes for our District for other uses within the county. In turn, the state will backfill us so that we are fully funded under the hold harmless provision of the SCFF. The negative ERAF adjustment, which is mandatory by statute and not under the control of the District, makes it unlikely that the District will transition into basic aid/community-supported status in the upcoming fiscal year.

Full Time Equivalent Students (FTES)

FTES is calculated based on the number of weeks in the quarter and the number of weekly student contact hours (WSCH) for each course a student is taking. 1 FTES = 525 hours of instruction (15 hours x 11.67 weeks x 3 Quarters).

Hold Harmless

This provision was included when the Student Centered Funding Formula was implemented to support districts that were subject to losing revenue due to the implementation of the SCFF. Its initial transition time was extended due to the pandemic. AY 24-25 is the last year of the “hold harmless” provision. Starting in 2025-26, District’s will be funded at their hold harmless level or their SCFF funding, whichever is highest.

Student Centered Funding Formula (SCFF)

The Student Centered Funding Formula is the funding model the CCC is now using in replacement of the previous funding model that was based strictly on enrollment and student contact hours. The Student Centered Funding Formula’s metrics are in line with the goals and commitment set forth in the California Community Colleges’ Vision for Success and can have a profound impact closing achievement gaps and boosting key student success outcomes. There are three main components to the SCFF. The largest piece, which is the base allocation, makes up 70% of the revenue. Most of the base funding comes from enrollment data and also includes funding for the size (number of FTES) of campuses and centers for the district. (We get additional funding to support the Sunnyvale Center.) The base revenue considers the average of the previous three years’ data. The second part of the SCFF is the supplemental allocation, which includes the numbers of students receiving a College Promise Grant, Pell Grant and AB 540 students. The third component is a student success allocation based on outcomes that include the number of students earning associate degrees and credit certificates, the number of students transferring to four-year colleges and universities, the number of students who complete transfer-level math and English within their first year, the number of students who complete nine or more career education units and the number of student who have attained the regional living wage. Read more about extensive details and resources on the SCFF here. UC Davis School of Education also has a short primer on the SCFF.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is our budget predicted to be flat in the coming years?

Starting in 2025-26, community college districts will be funded by the SCFF or by their floor (hold harmless amount) whichever is highest. The FHDA District budget team projected that we are about $14.5 million (as of 2024-25 Tentative Budget) from earning state revenue through the SCFF. In the coming years, when the State provides a COLA and applies it to all of the rates of SCFF metric, we should see our potential SCFF revenue go up. This will close the “hold harmless” gap. Also, as we improve our student outcomes, we will maximize our potential SCFF funding. Also, it is important to note that many categorical funds will still be based on enrollment and will see an increase in funds if our enrollment increases.

Why, if our budget is going to be flat next year, are we reducing the number of sections we are offering?

For the last two years, Foothill College has used additional funding from Foothill’s “savings account” (our own one-time college carryover funds) to provide extra sections to restore resident FTES. Due to the spending down of these one-time funds, Foothill does not plan to supplement the part-time instructional budget moving forward. In the Tentative 2024-25 District budget, there is $3.2 million ongoing funding to support non-credit CDCP, dual enrollment, and the opening of additional sections where there is significant student demand.

What happens when a class section is full? Why are we turning away students?

Aligning our schedule with our budget does mean that we will only be offering a set number of classes. The allocation of load based on our budget was done at the division level. This leaves divisions and departments flexibility to use their expertise and understanding of the program maps and student needs to allocate the load in the best way possible. That said, we do know that some sections will fill up. Admissions and Records are continuing to scale their student communications and registration events to ensure our underserved students take advantage of priority registration and register at their first available date. Counseling will work with students to identify alternative courses to register for. We will also be communicating to students on the wait lists for courses where there are other alternatives (like other courses that meet that GE requirement). For the next academic year, we will also have access to some one-time, District funding to supplement our budget and add additional sections of classes which are full and critical to all students’ progression (e.g. ENG, MATH, COMM, etc.).

How will we climb out of the flat budget if we can’t add sections?

The parameters in the SCFF provide extra funding for enrollment of underserved populations (specifically Pell grant recipients, AB 540 students, and CA Promise grant recipients). We also receive extra funding for completion and transfer, with even further additions for those successes for underserved students. We are scaling efforts made to outreach and support these underserved populations because this aligns with our mission. As this mission driven work takes hold and our student success and completion rates increase, our funding through the SCFF will also increase.

What does it take to become “basic aid”? And, is it something we want?

When local property tax revenue and student enrollment fees exceed the revenue that we receive from the state SCFF under the hold harmless provision, in theory we should become basic aid/community supported. For the FHDA 2024-25 Tentative Budget, the District is projected to be very close (about $1 million) from being basic aid/community supported under current local property tax assumptions. However, the county is projecting a very large negative Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) adjustment of about -$26 million for the 2024-25 year, which will lower the reported local property taxes for our district, moving us further away from basic aid.

If the District were to become basic aid, in the beginning there may not be much of a benefit as we would be barely into basic aid. As the years go by and depending on the amount by which property tax revenue increases, there could be an accrued financial benefit from basic aid.

Will we be eliminating faculty or staff positions?

There is no plan with the current budget situation to eliminate full-time faculty or staff positions. We will be adjusting for increases in expenses by redistributing operating expenses and making decisions on which operating (not employee) costs to discontinue. Due to the reduction of class sections offered, we will hire fewer part-time faculty.

Will we be eliminating academic programs? Will we be “forced” to combine programs with De Anza?

There is no current plan to eliminate academic programs due to budget constraints. The elimination of programs is a shared governance item where the faculty voice is critical. There is not a process at Foothill that gives faculty the opportunity to weigh in on the relevance and viability of academic programs. The Academic Senate will be discussing and creating a process for program revitalization and discontinuation. This process is important for our shared governance bodies to have, regardless of the budget situation. The curricula need of students, the community, and the workforce change over time. We have a process to add new courses and programs as part of the curriculum process. There also needs to be a faculty-led process to evaluate whether existing programs still meet student and community needs.

What pools of money might get pulled back from the State?

“Pulling back” means taking back unspent funds that were previously allocated for multi-year budgets. There have been no definite communications about “pulling back” funds though rumors are circulating in the CCC system around sweeping the unspent funds for the multi-year allocations of Strong Workforce, LAEP, or the COVID Block grant in order to close the state deficit. Until we hear anything definitive, we will continue to budget with the previously set year to year allocations.

Will there be a decrease in instructional materials and equipment funds?

The State’s budget for California Community College for 2024-25 does not include new instructional equipment, library materials or scheduled maintenance funding at this time. At Foothill, we plan to use past year's funding of approximately $1.3 million over the next few years to support instructional equipment and materials needs. We will also rely on State Lottery materials funds to support the purchase of books, periodicals and software to support student learning.

How close are we to the 50% law? Will there be cuts to our non-instructional costs?

We are operating right at the 50% law. This means that as we reduce what we spend on faculty salaries and benefits we need to reduce our non-instructional expenses. This means that there will need to be reductions on the operational costs (non-staff) of the non-instructional side of the 50% law.

Where are we spending our bond funds?

Measure G was approved on March 3, 2020. The $898 million in funding is for the entire district and Foothill College was originally allocated $175 million for our priority projects. This has now been increased to $195 million. In addition, the Board recently approved faculty and staff housing on the Foothill campus. The larger projects (housing, Sunnyvale Center remodel/HVAC, pool/changing rooms upgrades, and dental clinic) will take some time to complete. Campus lighting, new signage and wayfinding, and other infrastructure upgrades are already in the planning stages.

How is the revenue from non-resident students distributed?

Non-resident revenue is not separated out of the budget. The District is projecting about $24 million for non-resident revenue as of the 2024-25 FHDA Tentative Budget. Non-resident revenue offsets the direct costs of the ISP (International Student Program) staff. The non-resident revenue is added into the District’s total general fund which covers the operating expenses and helps to support instruction, student services and administrative expenses throughout the District.

Can we offer courses in contract or community ed to address our budget issues?

Contract and community ed funded projects may be a way to meet the needs of certain community members. It is not a solution in general because there are restrictions on the type of classes that can be offered and restrictions on what revenue from these programs can be spent on.

How do Workforce Programs and Dual Enrollment help with the SCFF?

Workforce programs contribute to living wage gains, degrees, employment, and certificates, all of which are part of the SCFF metrics we are required to report. Dual enrollment FTES is compensated at a higher rate than a regular student and dual-enrolled students are also earning certificates and completing CTE units.

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