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Weekly News Brief | September 9, 2022
From the Office of Chancellor Whitney Yamamura, Ed.D.
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This week, the Board of Trustees adopted the 2022-2023 budget. The conversation was extremely valuable, and I appreciate Vice Chancellor Drinkwine making clear the uncertainties ahead.
The old expression goes "hope for the best, plan for the worst." My thinking goes a bit like this: Hope for the best, plan for the most likely, have a contingency for the worst. That is how we are managing the budget for this year and our projections for the next several years.
Best case scenario is a miraculous recovery of student enrollment with sustained high revenues for the state. Most likely is a stabilization of enrollment as your efforts to expand educational access balance out negative demographic trends, paired with a modest recession leading to a decline in state revenues. Worst case is that enrollment continues to drop, and the state enters a recession-based budget crisis.
To be frank, we do not know which future is ahead of us. The middle path may not end up being the final answer, yet it is the best path for us to walk for now. That means planning for a few years of fiscal plateau at the end of hold harmless as costs continue to rise while revenues stagnate. That is not a rosy outlook, but it is manageable if continue to take prudent actions.
The future is uncertain, yet we still have time on our side.
With gratitude,
Whitney
Whitney Yamamura, Ed.D.
Chancellor
National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated September 15 through October 15. This year's theme is Unidos: Inclusivity for a Stronger Nation. Coastline College invites all faculty, students, and staff to celebrate through music, dance, and healing all month.
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Chancellor to Visit Colleges
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Orange Coast College will hold a Meet and Greet today, Friday, September 9, 2022, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Student Union Multipurpose Room (SU-101).
Coastline College will host Chancellor Yamamura during a mobile tour of all campuses on Tuesday, September 13, between 12:45 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Golden West College will hold a Meet and Greet, Friday, September 16, 2022, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room.
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Report from the Board of Trustees
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On Wednesday, September 7, the Board of Trustees met and held a public hearing on the 2022-2023 budget. Vice Chancellor Marlene Drinkwine presented, detailing a year ahead that benefits significantly from the availability of one-time funds. The budget does show a $1 million deficit, anticipated to be closed through typical salary savings and other unspent allocations. Additionally, the Coast District is eligible for $9 million in emergency conditions allowance over two years, provided the Coast District take mandated actions including a reserve policy of carrying two months' expenses or 16.7 percent of the overall budget. Vice Chancellor Drinkwine and Vice Chancellor Serban addressed uncertainties around enrollment, the end of hold harmless resulting in a fiscal plateau, a reduction in federal pandemic spending, and a potential recession. Trustees discussed these uncertainties and adopted the proposed budget.
The Board also voted to conduct meetings in person starting September 21, monitoring conditions on an ongoing basis. Director Jerry Marchbank addressed a joint project with The City of Costa Mesa for the design and construction of right-of-way improvements at the intersection of Pinecreek Drive and Adams Avenue entering Orange Coast College near the Harbour, with the Board acting to adopt an amended agreement with the city. Trustees also acted to file notice of completion and release of funds on the Coastline College Student Services Center, a final financial step in the building process. Trustees additionally awarded contracts related to the Orange Coast College Chemistry Building.
The Board adjourned in memory of Manny Ontiveros, faculty member at Golden West College.
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College News
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COASTLINE COLLEGE |
| Coastline College announced their newly elected Associated Student Government President, John Brunin. John started with Coastline last year and is majoring in cybersecurity. After high school, John joined the Army and served for 21 years before formally retiring in 2021. After retirement, and in transitioning to civilian life, John saw the need for more community outreach that led him to enroll at LMU for the Peer Support Specialist course. Today, John works at the Coastline Veterans Resource Center helping students and community veterans with their personal and educational needs. | 
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GOLDEN WEST COLLEGE |
The Golden West College Regional Criminal Justice Center will now be home to a piece of the World Trade Center towers destroyed in the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. Trustee Jim Moreno arranged for the donated artifact, which was memorialized and dedicated on September 7, 2022. The memorial will serve as a reminder of duty and service for the first responders training at the Center. |
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ORANGE COAST COLLEGE |
Orange Coast College partnered with Kaiser Permanente and Abound Food Care for a volunteer event on Saturday, August 27, aimed at addressing food insecurity in the community. Kaiser Permanente staff and their families visited OCC's Recovery Kitchen to make and package ready-to-eat meals using recovered food. Volunteers were also given a tour of OCC's new state-of-the-art facilities as well as the College's Pirates' Cove food pantry, where many of the meals would be delivered in preparation for the start of the fall semester. Volunteers were able to cook and package 648 meals and 200 cookies on Saturday, half of which was delivered to the Pirates' Cove. |
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Schedule, Week of September 12
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Chancellor
Dr. Yamamura is in the District, Monday through Friday
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publicaffairs@cccd.edu
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