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Community colleges raise concerns over TK rebenching, proposed deferrals and program cuts in May Revision
Summary
Community college officials and the Legislative Analyst’s Office warned a Senate budget subcommittee that the May Revision’s technical change to remove transitional kindergarten rebench funds from the K–12/community college split shifts roughly $492 million and contributes to a proposed $531.6 million apportionment deferral.
The Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Education examined several May Revision proposals affecting the California Community Colleges (CCC), including the administration’s recommendation to exclude transitional kindergarten rebench funding from the K–12/community college Proposition 98 split, a series of technical adjustments and a proposed apportionment deferral.
Justin Harris of the Department of Finance described the administration’s view that TK expansion costs should be aligned to the segment where those costs occur and therefore excluded from the split calculation used to divide Proposition 98 between K–12 and community colleges. The change reduces the community colleges’ share of certain prior‑year and current‑year funding and produces an estimated $492 million shift (roughly $233 million ongoing) within the three‑year window.
LAO analysts said the proposal would move about $492 million and recommended against using deferrals where possible, arguing that large deferrals create long‑term fiscal risk. The LAO recommended budgeting for the statutory COLA, funding enrollment adjustments, and then funding new proposals only from remaining resources. LAO also proposed an alternative that rejects some one‑time proposals (career passports, credit for prior learning and the common cloud data platform) to free up money for core apportionments and to avoid large deferrals.
Chris Ferguson of the CCC Chancellor’s Office thanked the subcommittee for the May Revision’s focus on core apportionments and COLA funding, but echoed LAO concerns about the size of the proposed $531.6 million apportionment deferral from May 2026 to July 2026. CCC officials asked that the Legislature reduce the deferral where possible and highlighted that the rebench shift has an estimated $492 million impact spread between one‑time and ongoing elements.
The Department of Finance also outlined adjustments to other CCC investments: reductions to the collaborative enterprise resource planning investment, the common cloud data platform and cuts to some one‑time proposals in order to prioritize apportionments and growth funding. Committee members asked about hold‑harmless lists and how funding changes would affect districts that remain on stability protections.
The subcommittee did not adopt final actions; speakers urged priority for core apportionments and caution about retroactive adjustments to the split that affect previously budgeted years.
