How could the Peralta Community College District improve its fiscal management?
Peraltas finances today are not as precarious as they were in the l980s, when they required a State appointed overseer to restore fiscal health. The state requires a 3% reserve, and the Districts budget shows a 7% reserve even after some poaching to make up for the Governors last-minute cuts. The trustees money management style, however, remains a source of sharp criticism from the press and the faculty. A state audit of the 1999-2000 budget found the District out of compliance with the 50% rule, which requires that at least half of State funds be spent for classroom expenses (largely faculty salaries). An audit of year 2000-2001 has been requested by Assemblywoman Dion Aroner to certify the legitimacy of trustee travel expenses. Newspaper stories in the spring of 2001 highlighted expensive Board trips to far-off places (China, South Africa) in quest of increased enrollment of foreign students. These students pay $150 a credit, rather than $11 that residents pay, but their tuition mone
