Winter session has been cut, classes are being trimmed and rumors of faculty being asked to take cut backs in salary and healthcare are circulating all while EC’s has a large reserve fund to fall back on. But as the reserve fund grows only some of it will be used during this time of need.

“The money in the fund is a buffer for bad times and if this isn’t bad times, then what is,” Don Brown, faculty negotiator of the Federation of Teachers said.

But with faculty groups pushing to use the $23 million saved, Thomas
Fallo, president said that after putting aside the state requirements there is only about $17 million left in the reserve fund to be
allocated.
“$6 million should never be touched; the state of California requires to have that in the reserve,” Fallo said.

According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, a community college, referred to as a district, is required to save between 1 percent and 5 percent of their General Fund expenditures in a reserve fund depending on the district’s size. The district is allowed to dip into the reserve fund at any time to provide financial help for the operation of the college. But if the fund nears the state requirement, the district will be watched carefully monitoring the use of the fund.

While EC continues to budget conservatively, a major concern as to when a portion of the reserve fund will be used lingers in the minds of many faculty groups.

“They are pretty conservative in spending but they are asking for faculty cut backs and taking classes away,” Brown said. “We can’t justify that.”

Officials have come up with two reasons for not using the fund; to hold on to the money incase the state budget gets worse in the next five years and to get a better interest rate in order to float a new bond to rebuild more of the campus, Shaddish said.

“We at the federation believe we should be using the reserve,” Elizabeth Shaddish, president of the Federation of Teachers said. “Absolutely, we should be using it.”

But EC does plan on using a portion of the reserve fund to offset the budget crisis Fallo said. With the state budget uncertainty, he said some of the reserve money will be saved for any future needs.

“So many things can happen between now and September,” Fallo said.

While some might agree, many other faculty groups think the state of the economy is turning around.

“We can already see some positive changes,” Shaddish said. “So we are asking that they not use this $23 million as an excuse not to fund classes, and not to fund teachers, especially part-time faculty who have been hit the most.”

While rainy days have fallen on EC, the reserve fund remains a question for both faculty groups and administration alike. A meeting to discuss the tentative budget will be held June 20.

As they take the next steps in the negotiation process, Brown said they would continue to fight for education.

“The reserve is saved for bad days,” Brown said, “and these are bad days.”