Day at a Glance

Dear Colleagues,

This will be the first of two memos pertaining to our budget for 2025-2026. 

First, I just want to thank you for your patience with all of the budget changes and uncertainty in this planning cycle. This has been a turbulent budget development year.  From the OFM overpayment to community colleges, to the $16 billion state budget deficit, grant cancellations from the federal government, and the most recent legislative decisions affecting High Demand/Nursing and Guided Pathways provisos —there were many considerations and barriers to overcome in developing a budget for our Board of Trustees to consider for approval.

As you may recall, as Governor Jay Inslee left office, he emphasized resolving the Washington state budget with revenue from a wealth tax.  This solution was met with resistance from our new Governor Bob Ferguson who asked legislators to find a more balanced way to resolve our current concerns.  The House and Senate both proposed budgets that would reduce funding in the Community College System ($1.1M and $1.8M at SCC ongoing). The Conference Committee reached a budget compromise to present to our new Governor, which included a projected $700K reduction for Shoreline as part of system-wide cuts to all state and community and technical colleges.

The approved budget was like the Conference Committee Compromise (in fact slightly better for us with an approximately $600K reduction).  We received our specific allocation from the SBCTC on June 8th which allowed us to make the final decisions for our Board of Trustees meeting on June 25th.

Shoreline Budget Methodology
Our goal this year was to bring a balanced budget to our Board of Trustees that prioritizes operational needs, supports the Strategic Plan, and helps us prepare for an uncertain future.  The preparation for uncertainty includes the need to continue to invest in areas that will move us forward, prepare for unforeseen changes, and be more efficient overall as an institution.

Our planning model (see pgs. 51-53 in our Mid-Cycle accreditation report) at Shoreline provides budget managers with the opportunity to meet with staff and faculty to prioritize and recommend innovation grant requests, budget adjustments, and staffing needs.  These recommendations are reviewed by Executive Team members, who conduct institutional prioritization and submit their recommendation to me for final review and approval. 

We have aligned planning with resource allocation, as required by accreditation standards.  This is an aspect of our participatory governance process based on the guiding principles set forth by the Strategic Planning Budget Council (SPBC) (recently renamed to the Budget, Facilities, Safety & Technology Council) in support of the Strategic plan.

This memo provides updates for the following as part of our budget development for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 (July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026).

• Innovation Grant Funding
• Position Prioritization List (for new positions).

Areas of Prioritization & Investment

Innovation Grant Funding

The following items are funded through General Funds and were prioritized as described above.  The total approved amount is $103,960.  For those awarded grants, funds will be available once the budget is uploaded prior to the start of Fall Quarter.

Supported by the Foundation

The Shoreline Community College Foundation (SCCF) staff review additional Innovation Grant requests to determine eligibility for Foundation funding. Priority is given to projects that align with already-held donor-restricted funds, ensuring contributions are used as intended. Additionally, SCCF considers projects that may not meet all of the specific criteria for an Innovation Grant but still advance the Foundation’s mission to increase student access and success. This approach allows the Foundation to support a wide range of initiatives that enhance educational opportunities and community engagement.

This year, the SCCF was able to fund the following items for a total of $18,900. For those awarded grants, funds will be available once the budget is uploaded prior to the start of Fall Quarter.

Through the planning (Program Review) and budget development process, areas requested $7.6million for ongoing needs.  These requests were prioritized by area Deans/Directors including feedback from staff and faculty and then Vice Presidents/ area leads to identify top requests.  Our Budget Office determined that we could utilize approximately$650K to fund ongoing budget requests for either positions or items needed to move the College forward.  All of this year’s top-ranked requests were for positions, which are listed below.  The positions support our Equity-Based Strategic Plan, and/or overall infrastructure needs. 

The College will conduct a financial assessment at the end of the first quarter (and in all following quarters) to evaluate our fiscal position. Should the results indicate a strong financial standing, we will begin recruiting for these new positions in the prioritized order outlined below, to the extent that our budget allows:

To present this plan to the BOT, we implemented strategic reductions across several budget categories, including travel, overtime, contracted services, non-instructional contracts outside of our collective bargaining agreement (CBA), and administrative extra duty assignments. These adjustments are designed to enhance the efficiency of our resource allocation while prioritizing the stability of our permanent workforce. Stay tuned for more details in an upcoming second budget memo.

Although we have engaged in extensive planning, the future remains uncertain. Ongoing and frequent changes at the federal and state level may impact both our operations and enrollment. Despite these challenges, our commitment remains steadfast; we will continue to prioritize the needs of our students and our community in every decision we make. 

Thank you again for your continued dedication, flexibility, and focus on our students and community. Your commitment makes this important work possible, even in uncertain times.

Sincerely,

Jack Kahn