July 13, 2011
The Civic Federation supports the City Colleges FY2012 tentative budget totaling $651.5 million, an increase of $69.6 million, or 12.0%, over the adopted FY2011 budget. Unrestricted operating funds, the portion of the budget over which the District exercises maximum control, will increase by 1.7%, or $5.3 million dollars over the previous year. The property tax levy will be frozen at the same level as the previous tax year.
City Colleges has begun a multi-year reorganization effort called Reinvention with the goal of improving student outcomes. Reinvention includes improving the financial and operational health of the colleges system, measuring progress on Reinvention outcomes and using zero-based budgeting to better align resources with goals. The Civic Federation strongly supports the City Colleges’ reorganization and its progress to date. It is a model that we encourage other governments to emulate.