Board Adopts Budget as Funding Formula Shift Promises Millions in New Revenue

The Contra Costa Community College District Board of Trustees moved on multiple fronts at its Sept. 9 meeting — adopting a $229.9 million budget poised to benefit from an eight-year advocacy win on state funding, naming an interim chancellor to steer the district through a leadership transition, and declaring an emergency over a fire-damaged campus building that underscored a deepening facilities crisis.

• District adopts 2026-27 budget under hold harmless, but a state policy change could boost projected enrollment-based funding from 24,800 to over 26,000 FTES — potentially worth millions

• Board unanimously ratifies Dr. Micaela Ochoa as interim chancellor at $393,432; permanent search targeted for spring

• Fire shuts down Contra Costa College art building through August 2027; trustees warn deferred maintenance crisis will worsen without a new bond

• Trustees Barrett and Honig blast last-minute amendments to state baccalaureate bills that strengthened CSU veto over community college bachelor's degrees

• Strategic plan year-one review shows $1.23 million in OER savings for students and progress on 60% of priority areas

• United Faculty and Local 1 signal optimism on long-awaited raises as budget picture brightens

• Enrollment climbs across all three colleges, with Los Medanos up 2.5% year-over-year

The board unanimously adopted the 2026-27 budget after a public hearing that drew no community comment — but the real story lies in what's coming next for the district's finances.