Trustees to Debate Bigger Fund Share for Oxnard College : Education: The chancellor proposes that allocations be based on districtwide needs. Campuses in Moorpark and Ventura historically have received about twice the amount given to the smaller school.

A divided Ventura County Community College District will debate today a budget plan that would greatly increase Oxnard College’s share of the district’s funding.

Historically, Oxnard College has received about half of the funding allocated to its sister colleges in Moorpark and Ventura, because it had half the enrollment.

But under a new funding model developed by Chancellor Thomas D. Lakin’s office, new funding allocations would be based on districtwide needs rather than the size of the colleges.

Under the plan, Moorpark College would incur about $1.7 million in cuts, and Ventura College about $1.5 million, while Oxnard College’s funding would remain practically the same as last year’s, Trustee Pete Tafoya said.

Lakin’s plan also calls for granting the district more control over budgeting decisions for all three colleges.

College officials said the proposed system would ensure that colleges don’t operate in the red and dip into the district’s reserves, as some have done in the past.

The plan has received the enthusiastic support of Oxnard community leaders, but college officials in Ventura and Moorpark say the plan is unfair and gives district bureaucrats too much decision-making power.

Oxnard officials said the new funding system will erase the historical inequities that have made Oxnard College the poor stepsister of the community college system.

“In the past, Oxnard College, because of its small size, has not received its fair share of funding for staffing and facilities despite the growth in enrollment at the college and the need for basic facilities which the other two colleges at Ventura and Moorpark already enjoy,” wrote Jim Faulconer, Oxnard Community Services director, in a report to the Oxnard City Council.

The new funding model “should improve opportunities for increased funding at Oxnard College, which would benefit Oxnard residents and students,” he wrote.

Added George S. Scarvelis, executive director of the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce, in a letter to Lakin: “We urge the Community College District support of the proposed allocation model on the basis of developing further the significant institutional resource of Oxnard College for our community.”

Under the old funding model, “we could not get the funding that we needed . . . to become a comprehensive community college like our sister colleges,” said Oxnard College President Elise D. Schneider. “Oxnard College is Oxnard’s college. It is imperative that we become equal.”

The City Council is scheduled to vote today on a resolution in support of the new funding system.

Ventura and Moorpark college officials are less enthusiastic about the plan. They said that while Oxnard College deserves a larger share of the district’s $64-million budget, Lakin’s plan is too one-sided and removes educators from decisions that affect them.

“I’m opposed to the proposed model because it takes away the autonomy of the colleges to make decisions, and replaces it with a preconceived dictate from above,” Ventura College President Robert Long said.

“I think Moorpark and Ventura colleges should transfer some funds to Oxnard,” he said. “But I don’t like the appearance that we are these lily-white colleges taking advantage of poor, small Oxnard College.”

Lawrence G. Lloyd, Moorpark College’s vice president for administrative services, said the new plan unfairly penalizes his college.

“This college prepared to give up some money and reduce some class size, but the bottom line for us is we hope to maintain a fully operational program,” he said. “This college is prepared to take a substantial hit, and we will, but it shouldn’t be disproportionate.”

Opinions among trustees are mixed. Trustee Timothy Hirschberg said the basic features of the old system should be preserved.

“I remain unsure that the proposed model, with its increased bureaucratic overlay and centralized authority, will accomplish anything new that can’t be done under the current model, with modifications,” he said.

Trustee Gregory Cole, however, supports the new model in concept.

“I think the proposal shows educational leadership,” he said. “I’m not sure I agree with every aspect of the proposal at this point and I do have some questions, but I applaud the chancellor for starting the process.”