Board of Governors approves $700 million-plus budget and legislative request focused on AI, veterans, Umoja and workforce

The California Community Colleges Board of Governors on Sept. 16 approved the Chancellor’s Office’s 2026–27 budget and legislative request, a package the office described as “roughly $700,000,000 in 1 time and ongoing requests.” The board voted to adopt the package after a presentation from Executive Vice Chancellor Christopher (Chris) Ferguson and follow-up remarks from Chancellor Sonia Christian.

The request asks the Legislature and the governor for a combination of one-time and ongoing investments across the system’s Vision 2030 priorities: equitable baccalaureate attainment, workforce and economic development, and the future of learning and artificial intelligence. Key line items in the presentation included funding for AI professional development and infrastructure, an ask to expand credit-for-prior-learning supports, proposals for veterans’ resource center expansion, new Umoja program funding and an allocation to scale dual-enrollment partnerships.

Why it matters: The package sets the system’s statewide advocacy priorities heading into the 2026–27 budget cycle and signals the chancellor’s office intent to pursue both one-time infrastructure investments and…