I am pleased to share that the College’s 2022-23 operating budget was presented and approved at today’s District Board of Trustees meeting. Based on the level of state appropriation this year as well as our enrollment projections, we have been able to prioritize several significant measures that will directly benefit our employees and our College. These include:

• Providing a 5% pay raise, and a minimum pay of $15 per hour (whichever is greater), for all regular, established positions;
• Implementing a new, more sustainable cost-sharing insurance model, which will begin with the new benefits year on January 1;
• Increasing adjunct instructor pay rates;
• Doubling the number of nursing faculty in order to double the number of students in nursing program; and
• Providing more robust professional development opportunities.

Additionally, there will be no tuition increase for the 11^th year in a row in order to keep a college education as affordable and accessible for our students as possible.

Our people are our most important resource, and investing in you is one of my top priorities. I hope you will be as pleased as I am to see our College be able to implement these measures for our students, faculty and staff.

Human Resources will be sending out additional information soon with more detail on how these changes will impact each of you. In the meantime, thank you all for your continued hard work on behalf of our students and our community!