The PCC Faculty Association Board joined in a statewide teleconference call November 7 to offer public comment at the Oversight Committee of the so-called “Student Centered Funding Formula” (SCFF, “the skiff”) proposed and supported by the Chancellor’s Office.

The committee had wanted to make a final decision to determine what levels of SCFF supplemental funds will be allocated to colleges. Many of our college’s operating budgets will be harmed by the formula currently used to determine SCFF supplemental funding. This funding disparity will result in college budget cuts that will harm many of the students this money was intended to help. PCC would be included in the group of colleges that would be adversely affected by the SCFF.

Stakeholder faculty groups such as CCCI, to which the PCC FA belongs, are supporting efforts by the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges (FACCC) to incorporate cost-of-living criteria that will both protect college budgets and ensuring that the needs of low-income and underrepresented students are adequately funded. The goal was simple: to convince the SCFF Oversight Committee to include cost-of-living adjustments within the SCFF supplemental allocations.

For the teleconference meeting, satellite sites were set-up throughout the state to receive public comment. An FA Board member provided testimony, emphasizing the following points:

• Current SCFF supplemental allocations will harm our students if the funding flaws caused by the absence of a COLA are not addressed;
• Many of the programs and services that benefit students in need would be jeopardized due to cuts in campus funding;
• What it means to be a low-income student in a high-cost area (such as Pasadena!);
• Many students in high-cost regions (again – Pasadena!) are ineligible for financial aid, yet face food and housing insecurities.

The Good News: The Oversight Committee voted to table the matter and reconvene to work toward a decision – this is a victory, at least for now, for PCC!

We will inform the membership in the next newsletter of the results and final legislative decisions on this aspect of state funding for our college.