June 2020 Employee Budget Reduction Update

Dear Colleague,

In these very difficult budgetary times, I wanted to provide an update regarding the College’s ongoing 2020-21 budget reduction process. As we’ve begun to receive preliminary numbers from the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) regarding the expected permanent reduction to our state allocation amount, the Executive Team (ET) has continued to evaluate the combined ET and College-provided strategies from the employee budget survey to develop budget reduction options for our campus.

As I shared in the end-of-year communication to campus, the College is preparing to meet an unanticipated permanent loss of up to $7.3 million in state funding to our budget effective for the upcoming 2020-21 fiscal year. This permanent reduction to our College funding represents the amount needed for the state to begin to address the $8.8 billion in lost revenue as a result of COVID-19 impact, and will require that the College become smaller and re-think how we do our work. As many of you are aware, at the June meeting the Board of Trustees approved a continuing budget (from 2019-20) resolution which will allow us to submit our final 2020-21 budget in October 2020. This action gives the College valuable additional time to receive and respond to concrete information from the state so that we create and finalize a data-informed 2020-21 budget.

Budget Actions Taken – Spring 2020

The significant reduction to our state allocation funding has meant several administrative and annual faculty contracts were not renewed for the upcoming 2020-21 academic year, creating a projected permanent budget savings of $498,000. The College has also implemented a temporary layoff of staff in revenue-dependent programs, which included the Parent Child Center and Rentals programs, for a projected temporary savings of $133,000. These reductions are in addition to the $2.2 million in reductions implemented earlier in 2019-20. I want to take this opportunity to affirm that these were very difficult decisions affecting members of our campus community and ones we did not make lightly.  

Upcoming Budget Actions

Looking ahead, the College will pause the 3% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) scheduled for administrators who will remain at their 2019-20 salary levels for the upcoming 2020-21 year. This action is being taken at Shoreline, as well as at many other colleges across the state, to lessen the impact of additional reductions that will need to occur beginning this summer and continuing throughout the coming academic year.

• Administrative/Exempt: The COLA pause will provide a projected savings of $240,000 (including benefit costs)

Although the COLA increases at 3% for classified staff and at 2.8% for faculty will go forward, the Executive Team is already engaging with the union leadership to identify opportunities for savings equivalent to the almost $1 million in projected annual costs for the COLAs.

• Classified Staff: The 2020-21 COLA will have a projected cost of $327,000 (including benefit costs)
• Full-Time Faculty: The 2020-21 COLA will have a projected cost of $364,000 (including benefit costs)
• Part-Time Faculty: the 2020-21 COLA will have a projected cost of $223,000 (including benefits costs)

As we move into summer quarter, the College will continue to identify and implement many of the solutions identified in the employee budget survey as we implement both temporary and long-term reductions to our operating budget. Our overall goal is to preserve as many positions as possible while we re-align operations to meet the changing landscape before us.

I know these are times of uncertainty coupled with financial, health, and racial unrest. I will continue to communicate with you as we receive more definitive information about what the state reductions will mean to us.

With appreciation for all you do to inspire, teach, and serve our students,

Cheryl Roberts, Ed.D.

President