Pasadena City College Board of Trustees Unanimously Adopts “Once in a Lifetime” $150 Million Budget

The Pasadena City College Board of Trustees has unanimously adopted a “once in a lifetime” budget for the 2015-2016 school year that assures no increases in student fees, funding for new staff hires and increased health and welfare benefits.

Assistant Superintendent Robert Miller said the budget is unique because of the magnitude of revenues which reach almost $150 million.

In a report by the PCC Courier, the college’s student newspaper, the budget also outlined about $1.4 million for hiring approximately nine new or previously frozen staff positions and $3.4 million for over 50 deferred maintenance projects, such as renovations and expansions.

The PCC budget also considered Governor Jerry Brown’s conservative approach to producing the state budget, which enabled the state’s actual general fund revenues to greatly surpass estimates, creating one-time funding opportunities for schools.

Trustee Ross Selvidge explained, “The $12 million in one-time funds have, for the most part, been spent on one-time expenditures.” This was done intentionally to avoid having to fund on-going projects. The largest portion of these funds, just over $3 million, has gone to building general reserves.

The board cautioned that despite the comparative growth the economy is experiencing now, it is still in a boom-and-bust state, and “anything can happen to cause a severe economic downturn,” according to Miller.

Executive Director of Business Services Joseph Simoneschi explained the school will use these good economic times to plan for the next downturn. Part of that plan includes saving for the cessation of Prop 30, an income tax increase that ends in 2018.

Simoneschi said $18 million to this year’s budget comes from Prop 30.

Details of the 2015-2016 Adopted Budget can be accessed through the PCC Fiscal Services website, www.pasadena.edu/adminServices/fiscal.