Chancellor's News Brief

Last Friday, the Governor released his 2025-2026 state budget proposal. Coinciding with that release, at their meeting on Wednesday, the Board of Trustees approved the calendar for the District’s budget development. The image below illustrates how our budget development process aligns with and depends on decisions made at the state level. It also incorporates the timing of state enrollment reports and decisions made through college planning.

Although we are at the very beginning of a nine-month process, some of the Governor’s priorities are already clear. He anticipates a $7.5 billion increase in Prop 98 funds, and of particular interest to us, he proposes that a portion of these funds be used to advance his Master Plan for Career Education. Other key highlights of his proposal specific to community colleges include:

• $168 million (one-time) for the completion of the Statewide Technology Transformation project, aimed at standardizing and streamlining data collection across the system.
• $162.5 million ($29 million ongoing) for the Statewide Common Data Platform to scale a common cloud data platform systemwide.
• $100 million ($7 million ongoing) for expanded Credit for Prior Learning policies and the development of a Career Passport. The Passport will provide students with formalized documentation of their skills and experience as they enter the workforce.
• $51.5 million (one-time Prop 2 funds) for 28 community college facility projects through the Capital Outlay program.
• $30 million (ongoing) to expand the Rising Scholars Network.

As mentioned, we are in the very early stages of the budgeting process and history has shown that the final enacted budget never looks exactly like the January proposal as presented. Over the next several months, the legislature will hold hearings to learn more about the Governor’s proposal and develop their own priorities. Starting at the end of the month, the CCCD Board of Trustees and executives at the colleges and district office will begin advocating for portions of the budget that will directly benefit our district. This effort will continue through the May revise and into July, as legislative language is developed to operationalize the enacted state budget, which must be approved in June.

Throughout this process, the District Consultation Council’s subcommittee on the budget will meet regularly to keep stakeholders informed of any changes to the original proposal, how it may affect the District, and to gather input on the best steps forward. Each constituent group is represented on these committees and shares information with their groups through meetings and newsletters. The District will be better served if we all participate in this process by staying informed and engaged.

With gratitude,

Dr. Whitney Yamamura
Chancellor

Each Board of Trustees’ meeting agenda tells a story of the operations, priorities, and successes of our colleges. By reading the agenda for this week’s meeting you would see the priorities of access and inclusion through institutional memberships for the National Pacific Island Council, the Campus Pride Index, and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. You would see that Golden West College reached agreement with CSU Fullerton on a clear and predictable path for transfer students. To get a sense of what is happening in our classrooms, look at the sections on Curriculum, Student Trips, and Special Events, which include hands-on training and internship opportunities across the disciplines. Two more highlights were the acknowledgement of productive careers with approvals of retirements and of the influence of Coast on the industry through appointments of two of our colleagues to national and state boards.

Agendas are available online the Friday before the meeting and you can watch the meetings through the District’s YouTube channel.

Please send examples of persistent innovation, by which I mean having a good idea and then putting in the hard work to make that vision a reality. The more examples submitted, the better I can highlight your successes in future letters and in the community!

Exciting news! Coastline College has relocated its food pantry from the Garden Grove campus to the Fountain Valley Student Services Center to better meet the needs of its diverse student population.

The Coastline College Food Pantry is now open at the Fountain Valley location Monday through Wednesday every week, offering support to all currently enrolled Coastline students. In addition to the expanded services at Fountain Valley, the Student Services team will continue to operate the food pantry at the Newport Beach and Westminster Le-Jao campuses during limited hours.

Students can also schedule a Food Box pick-up of non-perishable items at the Newport Beach campus, by emailing basicneeds@coastline.edu at least 24hrs in advance. Please include your first and last name as well as student ID number.

For the latest updates on locations and hours of operation, visit coastline.edu/food-assistance.

Coastline College, a pioneer in the California Community College system, is excited to host The Next Evolution: CBE in Our CCCs, a virtual summit on February 13, 2025. This statewide event will bring together California’s educators, administrators, and thought leaders to explore the progress, best practices, challenges, and future directions of Competency-Based Education (CBE).

The summit will feature presentations from trailblazers such as Coastline College, Mt. San Antonio College, and Southwestern College, along with interactive roundtable discussions on the operational and instructional aspects of implementing CBE.

Join us on February 13, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. via Zoom to learn more about this innovative instructional format that is breaking down barriers and expanding access to education for students across the state. This event is funded by Coastline's Regional Strong Workforce project. While it primarily targets Orange County community colleges, it is open to all institutions across California. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the conversation.

Register now!

Golden West College will ring in the Year of the Snake with a Lunar New Year celebration on February 6, from noon until 2 p.m. in the Main Quad. Students, employees and members of the community are invited to partake in the festivities, which will include traditional entertainment, such as Lion dance and Japanese folk dance performances, as well as a K-pop performance and martial arts demonstration.

Attendees also will have an opportunity to participate in traditional games, and arts and crafts, such as Bầu cua cá cọp and hanging wishes on a Lucky Tree. Traditional Asian cuisine will be served, including bao buns, sugarcane drinks, spring rolls and dried fruits and meats.

In response to the devasting wildfires in Los Angeles, Orange Coast College has partnered with Abound Food Care to prepare thousands of relief meals for those affected.

When Steve Gostin, OCC’s General Manager of Instructional Food Services, received a call from Abound Food Care to prepare hot, nutritious meals for those affected by the wildfires, the timing could not have been better.

The College Center Dining will be closed for the next two weeks in preparation for the start of the spring semester, which allows the Instructional Food Services team to redirect their efforts to support this important cause.

The team, along with Culinary Arts and Food and Beverage Management programs, prepared 600 wildfire relief meals intended to be both hot and nutritious, all made from scratch.

Ingredients for these meals were generously donated by Sysco Foods- LA, OCC’s main food services vendor, as well as Fresh Point Produce and Penjoyan Produce, totaling over $8,000 worth of ingredients.

In addition, they will prepare, freeze and store an extra 5,000 bulk meals to ensure that nutritious options are readily available as the situation evolves.

“We are pleased to give back and help the community with hot, nutritious meals during this state crisis,” says Gostin. “We couldn’t have done this without the support from our partnerships.”

The meals will be delivered by Abound Food Care.

Chancellor, Week of January 20

Dr. Yamamura is in the District on Monday through Thursday.

Vice Chancellor Dr. Serban is Acting Chancellor on Friday.