By Clyde Noel

Trying to balance a total revenue budget of slightly more than $212 million for the Foothill-De Anza Community College District is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces.

“We don’t know what funding we will receive from the state, and we are waiting to see what the governor vetoes,” said Kathryn Blackwood, budget officer for the district. “We don’t have all the answers from the state yet.”

Governor Gray Davis’ state budget has a deficit currently estimated at $23.6 billion, and that shortfall will have an impact on California community colleges.

According to Vice Chancellor Jim Keller, it’s an election year and bad news will be carefully avoided, deferred or dressed up until after November. Local government and public education are contending with limited and imperfect financial information, and the financial condition does not look favorable.

The district’s prime revenue budget is the unrestricted general fund, which consists of apportionments, property taxes and resident tuition. The revenues also include $3,913,000 in lottery payments, $10,635,000 in campus income and partnership for excellence programs from the state. Unrestricted general fund revenues for the 2002-03 budget are $157,151,957.

Most of the line-item expenditure categories reflected in the 2002-03 budget are salaries and employee benefits. The district’s core function is teaching, and most of the district’s expenses are related to instruction. Also included are materials, operating expenses and capital outlay for a total of $155,401,628.

Including transfers-out and other contingencies, the net fund balance on June 1 was $15,784,631. Early in the year the district produced savings that would increase the end fund balance to provide the colleges and departments flexibility and time to identify permanent budget adjustments.

“Compared to other districts, we at Foothill-De Anza are in relatively good shape,” District Chancellor Leo Chavez said. “Because of excellent budget management, Foothill-De Anza is in a good position.”

The district establishes an enrollment growth goal each year that takes into consideration the state-established funded enrollment cap and the district’s own enrollment trends. The district enrollment goal for 2002-03 is 35,750 full-time equivalent students (FTES).

Present student enrollments are: Foothill 14,120 and De Anza 21,241, for a total of 35,361.

Foothill and De Anza goals include increasing the number of students transferring to four-year colleges, improving student support programs and upgrading the performance of underrepresented students in math and English classes.

“Considering the state and the economy, we are doing very well,” Blackwood said. “We are well positioned to handle whatever comes up unannounced.”

A public hearing on the 2002-03 budget was held Aug. 26; the board approved the budget at its Sept. 9 meeting.