Book Description
The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the United States with more than 2 million students enrolled in 115 colleges. The system consists of 73 local community college districts, which are responsible for governance of the colleges. This dissertation examines the finances of those districts. Extensive research suggests educational inputs affect student outcomes, and recent reforms in California, such as a new state-administered Student Centered Funding Formula and the California College Promise, assume changes in community college finances will support educational improvement. However, little is known about how the districts' finances vary today. Using administrative data from the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (CCCCO), I find that revenues and expenditures vary meaningfully across the system, exceeding standards of fairness drawn from prior literature. Further, although prior research suggests that low-income students require greater support to achieve similar outcomes, my analysis does not find evidence that districts who enroll higher proportions of these students receive greater revenues or incur greater expenditures the students may need. Finally, some districts, and even some receiving higher per-student revenues relative to other districts, appear to be facing challenges when indicators of financial health (i.e., deficits and fund balances) are measured. These results can inform state-level policy to better target the distribution of funds. They can also assist local leaders in setting priorities in their budgets.
