The Union: Effects of California’s mismanagement hit home at Sierra College

The Union newspaper asked me for an op-ed piece and ran it today. It’s a bit more summarized than the earlier blog post, so I’ll put it here as well.

For years, California has been living beyond its means, spending more than its revenue, and using a variety of accounting gimmicks to paper over the problem. In the last year, it has become readily apparent that the music has indeed stopped, and it’s time to pay the piper.

The lack of any more “tricks in the bag” caused the state to pass community college funding cuts last September that blew a $9.8 million hole in the 2009-10 Sierra College budget. Literally, the state eliminated funding for classes that had already been scheduled and were filled with students.

Because of the efforts we’ve made to work together and build fiscal discipline, our Board of Trustees had built $6.5 million in new reserves over the last five years. While we had originally set these reserves aside for a “rainy day,” this was much more like a fiscal hurricane — and the storm is still raging.

» Read the Entire Op-Ed