(a) The Legislature finds and declares that program-based funding, once implemented, will more adequately and accountably fund the costs of providing quality community college education. Given that program-based funding will not be implemented until fiscal year 1991–92, given that community colleges will be entering a period of major reform and incurrence of new state mandates commencing in January 1989, and given that community colleges will be entering this period of reform having lost purchasing power since the 1977–78 fiscal year, the Legislature recognizes the need to create a transitional funding mechanism for program improvement and mandate funding that can operate until program-based funding is implemented.

(b) For the purpose of improving the quality of community college educational programs and services, for the purpose of reimbursing state-mandated local program costs imposed by this act, and for the purposes of initially implementing specified reforms, the board of governors shall, from amounts appropriated for purposes of this section, allocate program improvement revenues to each district on the basis of an amount per unit of average daily attendance funded in the prior fiscal year. However, this amount shall be increased or decreased to provide for equalization in a manner determined by the Board of Governors, consistent with Sections 84703 to 84705, inclusive.

Each community college district shall use its allocation to initially reimburse state-mandated local program costs, and then to implement specified reforms and make authorized program and service improvements as follows:

(1) Developing articulated programs provided for in Section 69 of Chapter 973 of the Statutes of 1988 with school districts and campuses of the University of California and California State University.

(2) Applying minimum qualifications to all newly hired faculty and administrators, including candidates for these positions as required by Section 87356.

(3) Developing and administering a process for waiver of minimum qualifications as required by Section 87359.

(4) Establishing and applying local hiring criteria as required by Section 87360.

(5) Establishing and applying faculty service areas and competency criteria as required by Sections 87743 to 87743.5, inclusive.

(6) Evaluating temporary employees, instituting peer review evaluation, and widely distributing evaluation procedures as required by Section 87663.

(7) Establishing and applying new processes for tenure evaluation required by Section 87610.1.

(8) Establishing and applying the tenure denial grievance procedure required by Section 87610.1.

(9) Establishing and applying a process for moving administrators into faculty positions as required by Sections 87454 to 87458, inclusive.

(10) Publishing and distributing a report on the affirmative action success rate as required by Section 87102.

(11) Improving instruction by reducing the ratio of full-time equivalent students to full-time equivalent instructors.

(12) Improving instruction by increasing the hiring of full-time instructors and limiting the practice of hiring part-time instructors.

(13) Augmenting budgets for college libraries and learning resources.

(14) Augmenting budgets for plant maintenance and operations.

(15) Adding new courses or programs to serve community need.

(16) Making progress towards affirmative action goals and timetables established by the district.

(17) Developing and maintaining programs and services authorized by Section 78212.5.

(18) Augmenting budgets for student services in the areas of greatest need.

(19) Providing for release time for faculty and staff as deemed appropriate by the governing board of each community college district, to enable faculty and staff participation in implementing reforms.

(20) Developing and administering a program that provides for reassignment of up to 20 percent of the time of individual tenured faculty member’s teaching assignments, as determined by the governing board of each community college district, to counsel and assist newly hired faculty acquire teaching and classroom management skills. A governing board shall approve reassignment time for no more than 5 percent of the district’s full-time equivalent tenured faculty in any one fiscal year.

(c) Except as provided by Section 87482.6, and except as necessary to reimburse the costs of new state mandates, district governing boards shall have full authority to expend program improvement allocations for any or all of the authorized purposes specified in subdivision (b).

(d) As required by the board of governors, the governing board of each community college district shall submit to the board of governors a plan for using the resources allocated pursuant to this section. The board of governors shall review each plan to ensure that proposed expenditures are consistent with the listing of authorized expenditures provided in this section, and the board of governors shall approve all plans to the full extent that expenditures are authorized by this section. To the extent that a community college district expends its program improvement allocation consistent with its plan, the board of governors shall include the district’s allocation as part of the district’s base budget for subsequent years.

(e) The board of governors, through the annual systemwide budget submitted pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 70901, shall request necessary resources for the purposes of this section. It is the intent of the Legislature that the appropriation and allocation of program improvement money not otherwise provided pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be accomplished through the annual state budget process beginning with the 1989–90 fiscal year. After June 30, 1991, if Section 84750 is implemented, it is the intent of the Legislature to fund the ongoing operations of community college districts pursuant to Section 84750.

(Amended by Stats. 1993, Ch. 449, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1994.)