The Santa Monica College Board of Trustees voted 6-2 on Monday to terminate contracts for 45 employees — including custodians, administrative assistants, parking lot supervisors, and tutors — effective June 30, 2026, as the college faces an anticipated deficit of 14.7 million USD in the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
The college's unrestricted general fund reserves are projected to decline to approximately 16.9 million USD by the end of June, equivalent to 7.14% of total expenditures — significantly below the minimum 16.67% level recommended by the California Governor's Office. According to third quarter financial reports, the reserve fund has declined by more than 27 million USD, or approximately 61% compared to its peak of 43.9 million USD in the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
Vice President of Administrative Business Chris Bonvenuto warned that although the cost-cutting measures will save approximately 8 million USD, the college will still face a shortfall of 6 to 7 million USD with no solution in sight. Two board members who voted against the measure — Margaret Quiñones-Perez and Rob Rader — criticized it as a consequence of a decade of weak financial management, placing the burden on workers least responsible for the crisis.
We are placing the cost of leadership failures on the shoulders of those least responsible.
Analysis
Santa Monica College currently meets 5 of the 7 systemic financial crisis indicators that the California Governor's Office is monitoring — a serious red flag, not merely a routine warning.
This crisis reflects a widespread structural problem in California's community college system: salary and benefits costs have spiraled out of control while revenue from tuition and state budget allocations have not kept pace. According to internal reports, total academic and staff compensation increased more than 20% since 2021-2022, with benefits rising 25% — adding close to 40 million USD to the expenditure structure. Nearly 20 employees retiring simultaneously in June, four times the normal rate, forced the college to spend an additional approximately 1.1 million USD in accumulated vacation payouts.
More concerning is that this structural deficit extends into the 2027-2028 fiscal year, according to Academic Senate President Vicenta Arrizon. The college has exhausted auxiliary reserves and has no remaining one-time funding sources to fill the gap. If the Governor's Office imposes a special accountability regime, college leadership could lose budget autonomy — a significant political consequence for a board already deeply fractured.
Diaspora Impact
Santa Monica College is one of the community colleges in Southern California with the highest proportion of Vietnamese-origin students, with thousands of students from the Westminster, Garden Grove, and Fountain Valley areas enrolling each year. A 5% cut to course schedules in the current year and the risk of additional class cuts during the 2026-2027 fiscal year will directly impact Vietnamese-origin community students — particularly those in transfer programs to four-year universities or in technical and nursing programs already facing space constraints. Additionally, Vietnamese-origin administrative and student support staff working at the college are among the 45 positions being terminated effective June 30, 2026 — facing sudden job loss with no clear retraining pathway.