GILROY
– The state budget impasse that may cause a $400 million cash
flow problem for community colleges across California will have
very little impact at Gavilan College, the school’s president
said.
GILROY – The state budget impasse that may cause a $400 million cash flow problem for community colleges across California will have very little impact at Gavilan College, the school’s president said.
President Steve Kinsella confirmed Monday that roughly $800,000 earmarked largely for maintenance and improvement projects will be used instead to cover shortfalls from the state through September. The money enables Gavilan College to pay salaries and cover regular operating expenses in the absence of regular state allocations.
“We have at least three months of payroll covered,” Kinsella said. “A lot of agencies right now are out of funds.”
The money shift was made possible weeks ago after Kinsella recommended Trustees take a low interest loan that will pay for the capital improvement projects being done over the summer. Although the community college will now have a new loan to pay off over 10 years, it won’t be thrown into the tailspin many cash-strapped colleges face over the next few months.
Last week, State Controller Steve Westly announced that in the absence of an enacted 2003-04 budget, he would be unable to allocate in July $200 million in funding for California’s 108 community colleges. Another $200 million is potentially at risk for August if a budget is still not enacted, a press release from the California Community Colleges chancellor’s office states.
For months, many local education officials have predicted that lawmakers will need until October to finalize the state budget.
Trustee and budget subcommittee member Mark Dover called Kinsella’s foresight “visionary” Monday.
“Gavilan is the envy of the state. We’ve had minimal reductions in our services, and we’ve had no loss of staff,” Dover said. “This is why we hired him. A good accountant is worth every penny you pay him.”
Kinsella, who took over as president in January, is a a Certified Public Accountant and an internationally Certified Internal Auditor. Four years ago, Kinsella was the dean of business services at Gavilan.
When trustees named Kinsella president last fall, they were clear that his fiscal experience was the factor that put him ahead of other applicants.
“Steve brings to the table a kind of fiscal understanding the others didn’t,” Trustee Leonard Washington said then. “His ability to maneuver us through the financial troubled waters ahead kind of turned the table for us.”
GILROY – The state budget impasse that may cause a $400 million cash flow problem for community colleges across California will have very little impact at Gavilan College, the school’s president said.
President Steve Kinsella confirmed Monday that roughly $800,000 earmarked largely for maintenance and improvement projects will be used instead to cover shortfalls from the state through September. The money enables Gavilan College to pay salaries and cover regular operating expenses in the absence of regular state allocations.
“We have at least three months of payroll covered,” Kinsella said. “A lot of agencies right now are out of funds.”
The money shift was made possible weeks ago after Kinsella recommended Trustees take a low interest loan that will pay for the capital improvement projects being done over the summer. Although the community college will now have a new loan to pay off over 10 years, it won’t be thrown into the tailspin many cash-strapped colleges face over the next few months.
Last week, State Controller Steve Westly announced that in the absence of an enacted 2003-04 budget, he would be unable to allocate in July $200 million in funding for California’s 108 community colleges. Another $200 million is potentially at risk for August if a budget is still not enacted, a press release from the California Community Colleges chancellor’s office states.
For months, many local education officials have predicted that lawmakers will need until October to finalize the state budget.
Trustee and budget subcommittee member Mark Dover called Kinsella’s foresight “visionary” Monday.
“Gavilan is the envy of the state. We’ve had minimal reductions in our services, and we’ve had no loss of staff,” Dover said. “This is why we hired him. A good accountant is worth every penny you pay him.”
Kinsella, who took over as president in January, is a a Certified Public Accountant and an internationally Certified Internal Auditor. Four years ago, Kinsella was the dean of business services at Gavilan.
When trustees named Kinsella president last fall, they were clear that his fiscal experience was the factor that put him ahead of other applicants.
“Steve brings to the table a kind of fiscal understanding the others didn’t,” Trustee Leonard Washington said then. “His ability to maneuver us through the financial troubled waters ahead kind of turned the table for us.”
Eric Leins is a staff writer at the Gilroy Dispatch
