De Anza Budget

Jan. 29, 2010 - President's Message

Jan. 12, 2010 - Town Hall

Jan. 11, 2010 - President's Message

Sept. 18, 2009 - Opening Day Presentation

June 10, 2009 - President's Message

May 20, 2009 - President's Message

Jan. 29, 2010

Dear Colleagues,

This has been a very difficult week on campus, with a number of our friends and colleagues receiving early alert of potential layoff. I'm writing to you after yesterday's College Council meeting, in which we considered the budget reduction scenarios that have been developed through the Planning and Budget Team process. It was the most wrenching College Council meeting in memory, as we struggled with the magnitude of our budget dilemma and the consequences for both our students and our campus community. I have rarely seen such a demonstration of thoughtfulness and compassion, critical discussion and a search for solutions.

I want to thank College Council and the many members of the three PBTs for their thoroughness and care in the deliberations, and thank the members of our employee groups -- representing all of us -- for their earlier work in addressing medical benefit plan costs. Our budget would be considerably worse were it not for this earlier work on our collective behalf.

With sadness and a vow to fight for a better budget, College Council accepted the plans proposed by the PBTs, and thanked those teams for their seriousness and transparency. There are several organizational and program issues we will address as we go forward, but these plans are a necessary starting point.

The plan aims to reduce losses in staffing to the extent possible, but still requires the loss of both filled and unfilled positions. We will continue to search for alternatives. At the same time, we do not believe there will be help from the legislature or the governor.

I want to be extremely clear about the potential layoffs, and the plan we have to keep as many of the affected employees as long as we can.

• Last year, we eliminated 21 full-time positions, 12 of them filled. We then used one-time dollars to backfill these positions until June 30, 2010, and began a search for alternative employment for as many of those staff as we could. We used the inelegant term "Escrow I" for these positions. Under the current budget scenario, all of our colleagues remaining in those positions will receive layoff notices for June 30, 2010.
• An additional 12 full-time employees were notified this week that their positions will be eliminated as of June 30, 2010. Further, 32 classified hourly employees in the Student Success Center were given early notification that their positions will be eliminated, due both to the budget and to regulatory changes that prompted a thorough reorganization plan for these programs.
• There are 14 additional employees who received early notification that their positions would be eliminated from the general fund on June 30, 2010, but their employment would continue to be funded through one-time dollars beginning July 1, 2010, as part of what we are calling "Escrow II." These colleagues would remain fully employed until June 30, 2011, unless we receive another budget cut from the state this coming year. In that event, we could probably support those positions until December 31, 2010.

These proposed reductions in force are hardly acceptable, in my view. They threaten our ability to deliver the most basic services our students need. I will take that message to the board of trustees, themselves anguished over the magnitude of the budget crisis. We pledge to search for alternatives. At the same time, I am required to deliver a balanced budget, and one that demonstrates exactly the consequences of taking $4.8 million from De Anza's already devastated budget. I intend to deliver our message forcefully to Sacramento, despite my belief that there will be little relief there.

But no talk about the big numbers lessens the anxiety and hurt among our colleagues directly affected by early alert of potential layoff. Many among those affected will bump others, and Human Resources will soon complete the analysis of bumping sequences and alert additional employees. Through it all, I urge every one of us to reach out to our colleagues, make ourselves present and supportive of each other, and provide the kind of affection and love that makes this college a community. For my part, I will work to look for solutions that minimize the cuts, find alternatives for those members of our community under direct threat of the loss of their jobs, and build a bridge beyond the momentary insanity into which California has sunk.

Sincerely,
Brian Murphy

Jan. 11, 2010

Dear Colleagues,

We are well into winter quarter, and I hope you enjoyed your well-deserved time off. Many thanks to those who worked over the break, including staff in the Broadcast Media Center, Facilities, and Educational Technology Services, as well as Gilbane/Maas, to ensure that the campus power shutdown went as smoothly as possible. Bookstore staff made themselves available to serve students the weekend before the quarter began, and as always, custodial and grounds staff made certain that a clean and beautiful campus awaited our students.

Our students are back in droves. Once again, our classes are full, and we still have waitlists totaling more than 9,000 names. It gives us all pause to appreciate the seriousness with which the students seek an education and want to be at De Anza in particular.

The seriousness of our students only underscores the importance of how we marshal the ever-shrinking resources sent us by the state. Having reviewed the governor's just-released budget, I must say that his contention that he has spared higher education from further pain is largely illusory, as the budget proposal is constructed of savage cuts to health and human services and the receipt of federal dollars that few believe will materialize.

Whatever the results of the budget process, we are still left with the aftereffects of last year's disaster, in which the college and district suffered a deep drop in funding that we covered with one-time funds. We are therefore still burdened with resolving an ongoing deficit irrespective of what else happens at the state level.

As you know, De Anza College has been in the midst of budget planning for months. I want to bring you up to date on the status of the current budget deliberations and the processes through which we are constructing our budget.

* We are continuing the extraordinarily difficult planning for budget reductions in 2010-11, based on a projected deficit of about $4 million. Our deficit would be significantly higher were it not for the superb work of our employee groups in lowering district medical benefit costs, and we are grateful for their efforts.

* The college's Planning and Budget Teams have been meeting for many weeks to review three levels of reduction plans for 2010-11. The PBTs are broadly representative of all campus constituencies, and the discussions have been informed, thoughtful and animated by good will. This doesn't make the choices any easier. Under all scenarios being reviewed, we face additional layoffs and potential program suspension.

* The PBT proposals will be completed by January 19, and detailed plans will be shared in College Council on January 28.

* We will host a Town Hall meeting from 12:30-2 p.m. tomorrow--Tuesday, January 12--in Campus Conference Room B to discuss these and all related budget issues, review the broad outlines of our current budget projections and the processes through which we seek resolution. Please attend if at all possible.

Our budget principles are clear: To the degree we can, we will protect our student base; we will protect the services and programs that serve those most in need; and we will protect the core functions without which we are not De Anza College and do not have our distinctive identity. I have been deeply impressed by the seriousness with which our administrative staff, faculty and classified professionals have entered into these deliberations.

It is important not to remain passive about the state budget. There will be important organizing to represent our interests in Sacramento this winter and spring, and I urge every one of you to get involved. Our students are involved in significant political organizing efforts in protest of the underfunding of public education, developing an on-campus event January 20 and planning the march on Sacramento, to be held March 4. I believe the students deserve our enthusiastic support for their efforts.

These are wrenching times, and we must all be deeply caring and considerate of each other, and particularly our colleagues directly affected, as we deal together with the pressures.

Let's continue our focus on our students, remember our vocation and our mission, and take genuine joy in our work. It's found in those moments when a student looks up and grins and says, "I think I got it," or--even better--"I think the book's wrong; I have a better idea."

Sincerely,
Brian Murphy

June 10, 2009

Dear Colleagues:

The state of California is in an unprecedented budget crisis, and the governor and legislature are debating cuts of unimaginable dimensions to virtually all state programs, including the community colleges. These cuts include last-minute reductions in this current fiscal year (with 20 days left), and deep cuts to both our general apportionment and categorical programs.

Leaving aside the many particulars, the Foothill-De Anza district is anticipating significant funding reductions, and De Anza's share may range between $9 million to $14 million. We do not know the mix of cuts to general apportionment and categorical programs (such as DSPS, EOPS and Matriculation), but we have already begun to plan for deep reductions.

(I must remind you that this planning is on top of the reductions we have already made to bridge a district deficit of $6.7 million. We have already eliminated 21 unfilled positions, and, sadly enough, given advance alert to 12 of our De Anza staff colleagues in filled positions to anticipate that their jobs would be eliminated June 30, 2010. Because we have saved a significant amount of one-time dollars in anticipation of these early moves, we have set aside one-time funds to carry these positions through next June, barring state reductions even beyond those being discussed right now in Sacramento.)

The level of reductions now being discussed in Sacramento is catastrophic, even if we have one-time dollars to get us through much of the 2009-10 year. The aggregate cut in state support is hovering around $700 million. Try to wrap your head around that.

In anticipation of the budget we are likely to get, we have made the following preliminary moves:

1) Course Sections: We are planning to reduce course sections by 5% this fall, as the state debates whether or not to reduce our enrollment "base." Facing a cut of nearly 10% in our funding, we anticipate that the state will indeed do so. It will be a central element of our enrollment planning to ensure the maintenance of our core educational program, especially for those students most in need.

2) Cell Phones: College senior staff have jointly agreed to drop their district-paid cell phones and purchase individual phone service, with the retention of only those phones needed for emergency response. Further, I have asked all administrators to review and reduce the number of district cell phones assigned throughout the college.

3) ProCards: I have directed that all general fund and categorical administrators review ProCard distribution in their departments, and, other than in exceptional circumstances, pull all ProCard purchases back to the managerial level: deans, directors and vice presidents. All other cards will be cancelled.

4) Travel: I have asked administrators to review all travel, and with the exception of trips paid through negotiated staff development funds and trips associated with college priorities, all non-essential travel will be dropped.

5) Social Functions: No college social functions will be paid for or reimbursed out of college funds. I will use Foundation funds when appropriate, and we will continue the tradition of celebrating the graduation achievements of our students -- just not with state funds.

We are working with newly appointed Interim Chancellor Mike Brandy to craft a budget and enrollment plan that allows us to weather this storm, and will be providing regular budget updates to the college. The Academic Senate and Classified Senate are making plans to be available throughout the summer, and we will continue to bring our plans for reduction through shared governance. We have two things going for us: adequate one-time funds to have time to actually plan a response, and extremely dedicated faculty, staff and administrators who love this college.

I am absolutely confident that we will get through this, that we will continue to serve our students, and serve as a model of commitment and care.

If you have questions about the particulars of our budget, or the budget process, please contact Interim Vice President of Finance & Educational Resources Letha Jeanpierre at jeanpierreletha@deanza.edu or ext. 8976. Thank you for your continued understanding during these painful times.

Sincerely,
Brian Murphy

Dear Colleagues,

An important reminder: There will be a Budget Town Hall at 3 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday, May 21) in Conference Rooms A&B.

The failure yesterday of the major state propositions has forced an intense debate in Sacramento regarding the state's fiscal future. The governor has proposed a set of budget reductions that would have a profound effect on most state programs, and these include deep cuts to the community colleges. Among his proposals are immediate cuts to both our general apportionment and our categorical programs.

The governor's proposals are aimed at bridging a $21.5 billion gap between state revenues and projected state spending, and do not currently include tax increases to help bridge that gap. Insofar as the state has already enacted a 2009-10 budget, his proposals are amendments to that budget and must be approved by the legislature with a 2/3 vote.

We cannot speculate on how the legislature will find solutions when a small minority of its membership has the ability to control the final outcome. This makes it extremely hard to plan our own options. But there is no one who believes that we will escape deep cuts to our state funds. Newly appointed Interim Chancellor Mike Brandy and the district's financial team are in Sacramento today at the Association of Chief Business Officers (ACBO) meeting and are assessing the likely impact on the district. Currently, our best estimates for De Anza's reduction range between $9 million and $14 million.

While I am doubtful that the governor's proposals for 47% cuts to categorical programs will ultimately pass, I cannot ignore the broader warning: We will have to plan now for severe reductions in state support, while maintaining our commitment to the most vulnerable among our students.

I am asking that all categorical program managers limit their current spending to absolute necessities, as any balances they have this year will be carried forward into next. I am further asking managers in all programs to review their program plans for the rest of this academic year with the goal of eliminating all spending unless required for program continuity to the end of the year. These moves will provide only marginal savings at this late juncture, but every dime will count as we try to assemble a budget for next year.

We will host a Town Hall tomorrow at 3 p.m. in Conference Rooms A&B to review the parameters of our budget crisis and begin the conversation regarding our options. Our district leadership will join us, and I urge everyone to attend.

We will provide detailed budget information as soon as we have it, and I assure you that the college will respond to this next crisis with thoughtfulness and care.

We live with a fundamental contradiction: Our students and their families need us more than ever, precisely when the state cannot fund us adequately to meet the needs of these students. Our professional staff, faculty and administrators are caught in the middle of this contradiction, deeply committed to the students and also trying to balance budgets with a minimal loss of staffing and support. Without knowing how the state will ultimately decide our budget, I can pledge to you the most open and fair budget process we can muster, and an honest discussion about how we can keep ourselves whole and reinvent ourselves where we must.

Sincerely,
Brian Murphy
 

April 6,  2009


Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to spring quarter. For those of you who enjoyed a week's break, I trust it gave you some breathing room, and time with friends and family. We owe, as usual, great appreciation to those staff, faculty and administrators who labored through the break to register and enroll our students, and to get the rooms and grounds in great shape for their return.

Budget news:  As you are aware from previous messages, governance communications and this  budget Web site, we face an unprecedented budget crisis in the district, even if we have sufficient one-time funds to give us a little time to figure out our options. Put simply, the district has a structural deficit, the state will not provide on-going funds to make up the difference, and we will have to bring our budget into balance during this next fiscal and academic year.

As it currently stands, the district's $11 million deficit (largely the result of increased health benefits costs, as well as last year's compensation adjustments beyond the cost of living allowance and increased operating expenses) has been winnowed to $5.1 million. The reduction of the deficit was achieved through adjusting a variety of cost estimates and reducing low-enrolled classes, as well as the suspension or elimination of 26 positions districtwide, including the suspension of nine unfilled positions at De Anza. Our reduction of the Job Corps program also contributed $2.5 million to this reduced deficit figure. However, please keep in mind that we must make up the Job Corps enrollment of 1,400 in our base next year to retain the level of funding we get from the state, so outreach, marketing and enrollment management will be critical.

Faced with the remaining $5.1 million structural deficit, the bottom line is this, to echo Martha in her message of Feb. 25: Without changes to our collective bargaining and meet-and-confer agreements, additional filled positions will have to be suspended or eliminated. The current plan is to identify these positions by May 20, then backfill those reductions with one-time money.

As many of you have pointed out, it may not be practical to further reduce our "B" budgets with so little existing operating budget with which to serve our students. So we are faced with the suspension of as many as 32 additional general fund positions at De Anza, a truly horrible prospect when our entire non-teaching staff and administrators on campus number 259. There are no words for the human toll that such a reduction would take. The only mitigating factors are that we have sufficient one-time funds to carry those positions through June 2010, and that we will make every effort to minimize the disruption to the lives of our colleagues by placing as many affected employees as possible in other district positions that arise through retirements or other attrition and by assisting them in other ways. The dichotomy remains that we will be hiring faculty to keep up enrollment and to meet the state's minimum hiring obligation at the same time we may be reducing non-teaching staff.

I have begun meeting with divisions and departments throughout the college to provide a face-to-face opportunity for staff and faculty to talk about the budget crisis and our options. The Planning and Budget teams that partially comprise our shared governance structure are currently discussing their priorities as they search for ways to reduce budgets, and they will provide proposals to College Council before May 20, when the board of trustees wishes to see our proposals for handling the deficit.

Beyond meeting with divisions and departments, I will establish an open office hour from 12:30 to 1:30 on most Tuesdays, beginning April 21. Look for a MeetingMaker invitation. Anyone can feel entirely free to come on by with questions, rumors you've heard or suggestions for balancing the budget. I'll also be working with the Academic Senate and the Classified Senate to try to devise ways we could have wider discussion of the budget on campus.

The budget frames many of our options, but does not limit our commitment to our students. I am always struck by the degree to which De Anza College continues to reach out and engage our students, their families and their communities, and how our students themselves respond to crisis. They have come to us in unprecedented numbers, and we will work with them to realize their dreams and hopes. Thank you for your work, and once again, welcome to the spring quarter.

Sincerely,
Brian Murphy