From the President
De Anza's 2026-27 Budget: Where We Are and What's Ahead
September 11, 2026
Dear De Anza Colleagues,
I am honored to write to you for the first time as your new interim president with
important information about where our budget stands and what it means for the year
ahead. Chancellor Lambert's recent message laid out the district's budget picture.
I want to focus on what that means here at De Anza.
Some of you know me already from my two years as Vice Chancellor of Business Services,
where I worked closely on the district's budget. I know I'm stepping into a role that's
had a lot of change recently, and I don't take that lightly. My approach will be to
share the facts plainly and work through what they mean for us together.
A New Funding Model
The district is transitioning to a new funding source called Community Funding, or
Basic Aid. In simple terms, it means our revenue comes, for the most part, from local
property taxes, rather than being funded based on the number of students we enroll.
Over time, Basic Aid funding should stabilize our finances, reduce dependence on enrollment
swings, and make revenues predictable. We're not there yet.
Rising Costs
This past year, our costs outpaced our revenue: salaries rose 3% to 8%, benefits rose
6%, and operating costs rose about 7%, all while non-resident enrollment fee revenue
fell close to 10%. The result was a $7.6 million deficit in 2025-26, even with the
additional base revenue Basic Aid brought in. We saw this coming, and the District
used the Stability Funds to absorb it. Those funds did their job, but they're one-time
money, and we can't keep pulling from that same well.
What This Means for 2026-27 for De Anza
We built the 2026-27 schedule before we had the full picture. We chose to hold instruction
flat rather than cut, because we wanted to protect the enrollment growth De Anza achieved
between 2023 and 2026, growth that one-time district funding made possible under the
state's funding formula.
Today, that funding is no longer available. The adopted budget going to the Board
on September 14 reduces instructional load across both colleges by about 3.5% from
last year, and we expect a comparable reduction will be necessary again next year.
For now, we expect to absorb most of this through our strategic enrollment management,
rather than sharper cuts. Our deans will be working closely with the Office of Instruction
and Department Chairs/Schedulers with an eye toward minimizing the impact on students,
programs, and employees.
I want to emphasize the primary message of Chancellor Lambert’s communication to us
all: How we’re funded is changing. Our commitment to providing a truly transformative
education for our students is not. This message will continue to serve as our compass!
We at Foothill-De Anza Community College District are at an inflection point, and
I hope you’ll actively participate in the conversations college- and district-wide
as we work together as one (somos uno). I have full confidence that, as one community
in service, we can manage this challenge together and use it as an opportunity to
serve our students and community even better.
These are complex issues, and we're still working out what they'll mean for De Anza
in practice. Next week at Opening Day, we'll start digging into it together, and we'll
keep at it throughout the year through town halls where we can work through what this
means for the De Anza we're designing together.
Thank you for everything you bring to De Anza and to our students. My door is always
open for you to engage in conversations.
Yours in service,
Chris
Dr. Christopher F. Dela Rosa
Interim President