Public funds not enough for PCC
The sting of five straight years of state funding cuts has Pasadena City College officials planning unprecedented local fundraising efforts in order to avoid cutting classes and turning students away.
For years the school’s fundraising arm, the Pasadena City College Foundation, has raised millions for student scholarships and construction of new campus buildings. Now the foundation will begin seeking private donations intended to cover faculty salaries and other costs traditionally paid for with public dollars.
“It’s a sad commentary on the state of California, but that’s the reality,” said college Trustee Bill Thomson. “We can no longer depend on the state for all of our funding if we want to provide the course offerings our students need.”
Sacramento slashed $400 million in community college funds earlier this year, costing PCC more than $5 million.
More state revenue shortfalls prompted the announcement last week of a $10 per-unit increase in student fees and an additional $72 million in cuts — about $2 million coming directly out of PCC’s budget.
College officials had already trimmed the budget in anticipation of the bad news. But in a shift that marks a new day for the school, the college foundation last week took its first step toward more aggressive fundraising by hiring its first full-time executive director.
Bobbi Abram, who previously led fundraising efforts for community colleges in Kansas and Missouri as well as various national charities, begins work Jan. 9.
“It’s time for community colleges to step up their game,” said Abram, whose first moves will be to increase outreach to alumni and community leaders.
PCC’s foundation previously focused on managing scholarship endowments and running occasional campaigns for new buildings. It will seek out private-public partnerships, foundation board Vice President Lonnie Schield said.
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FOR THE RECORD: This corrects an earlier version that incorrectly spelled Lonnie Schield’s name.
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“The economy has basically changed the rules. We’re sort of being asked to become entrepreneurs,” said Abram, echoing the message of an October report by the California Community Colleges Foundation.
As executive director of the Metropolitan Community Colleges Foundation in Kansas City, Mo., Abram organized the Great American Book Festival, one of the largest community college fundraisers in the nation.
Less than half of California community colleges have foundations with full-time staff members actively soliciting private donations.
“At no other time in our history have we been under such great [financial] pressure,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott. Scott was president of PCC from 1987 to 1995 before joining the state Legislature. He was named chancellor of California community colleges in 2008.
As PCC president, Scott tapped private donations to complete the Shatford Library and build the campus’ sculpture garden.
“The businesses in the community are dependent upon personnel who are trained at community colleges,” said Scott. “I think there would be [local] interest in giving to see that Pasadena City College could offer more courses.”
PCC Trustee Geoffrey Baum credits the college foundation with building up scholarship funds that have made PCC education more accessible to all. But the battle of tomorrow, he said, is to make sure there are enough classes for those students to attend.
“There is ample financial aid available to students. More than half of our students have some sort of aid to cover fees,” said Baum.
The new role for the foundation, he said, is to pay “to hire additional faculty to open additional [class] sections the state is not able to fund.”