OFM Correction to Funds Issued Memo #2

Dear Colleagues, 

As shared with campus last week, Shoreline was recently informed that the Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM) made a $47M error in the amount of funding provided to the community and technical college (CTC) system for the 2023-25 biennium ($19M was overallocated for 23-24 and $28M for 24-25). Unfortunately, individual colleges had no way of catching the error because colleges are not privy to the specific formulas used by OFM to determine annual allocation amounts.   

While the amounts of overfunding to each college varied across the system, for Shoreline it meant a portion of the 2024-25 budget totaling approximately $1M (one million) dollars will likely need to be returned to the State. At this time, the OFM has not yet said anything about the $19M over-allocated in 2023-24.  

Local Response

In looking for a solution to this challenge, our top priority was to ensure all currently filled permanent positions remained untouched.  Instead, we looked at vacant positions to identify those that could be put on hold to generate the funds needed for a potential return to the State. An additional consideration was whether the positions were new (rather than replacing a prior person), whether the unit had begun the recruitment process, and the overall impact to the college. 

Last week I met with the Executive Team, the Classified and Faculty Union leadership, and the Faculty Senate to discuss potential holds on recruitment to ensure the College does not spend funding that we likely will need to return. As a result of these discussions, the following positions have been put on hold for recruitment at this time:  

Looking Forward 

While the positions listed above are on hold for now, it is possible that new funding could be identified to bring them back into active recruitment status this year. The Executive Team will work with me to establish a prioritization list to help make those decisions based on further discussions within the impacted units and our representative leadership groups.   

At a state-wide level, CTC presidents will continue to work with the State Board, OFM, legislators, and other stakeholders on long-term solutions. Meetings with budget leaders and legislators are already scheduled, and we are pursuing options for the next legislative session in January.  I should have an update on state-level solutions in the next couple of weeks and will put all updates in my weekly email to campus as new information is available, should you wish to track that progress.  

I know this is not the way that we had hoped to begin our 2024-25 academic year, but I do want to take this opportunity to thank the union leadership and Executive Team members for their thoughtful feedback and engagement during this difficult process.  As stated, I am dedicated to preserving our workforce and finding collaborative solutions. I appreciate your patience and commitment as we work through these challenges together, and I will continue to share updates as they become available. 

Best, 

Jack