Spring 2025 Budget Town Hall Meeting

Many thanks to everyone who attended the Budget Town Hall meeting on Friday, January 31, 2025, hosted by Dr. Tammeil Gilkerson, Chancellor of the Peralta Community College District, and Greg Nelson, Deputy Chancellor and COO. The Zoom meeting was well attended with 300 participants on the call. A video of the Town Hall meeting is available on YouTube here, while the slides are available here. Chancellor Gilkerson welcomes any feedback you have regarding the Town Hall and our budget situation – please provide your feedback or suggestions here.

Key points made during the Budget Town Hall include:

• Budgetary Constraints: Peralta faces significant budget challenges due to declining enrollment of Full-Time Equivalent Students (FTES), the end of "hold harmless" funding, and years of accumulated cuts. Revenue will remain flat unless FTES surpasses previous levels. The district struggles with maintaining reserves, deferred maintenance, underfunded retiree benefits, rising healthcare costs, and substantial student debt.
• Historical Perspective: Chancellor Gilkerson provided a historical overview of the district's fiscal challenges and past reports, highlighting that many of the current issues have been identified and ongoing for some time.
• Need for Long-Term Strategy: The district needs to move beyond short-term survival tactics and develop a long-term strategy to address its fiscal challenges and reimagine its future.
• Transparency and Communication: Chancellor Gilkerson emphasized the importance of transparency in communicating the district's financial situation and the difficult choices that must be made.
• Call for Collaboration: She acknowledged the work of college presidents, leadership teams, and governance groups and stressed the need for continued collaboration to navigate these challenges. Collaboration as part of our new Shared Governance model will be critical for our success.

The path forward for achieving long-term fiscal stability is to reimagine our organization and how we serve students. Dr. Gilkerson proposed “Moonshot Thinking” and quoted President John F. Kennedy who said, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things. Not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” She pointed out that our students, our community, and our colleagues deserve nothing less.

Chancellor Gilkerson concluded by stating, “I bet on Peralta all day, every day, and our ability to do really remarkable things. We've done it. Our students do it every day.” She continued, “So thank you so much for your service to the district. Thank you so much for choosing Peralta, and for being here for our students in this community. We need you now more than ever, and I'm grateful and grateful and grateful. Thank you so much.”