Below is the text of a memo sent to LCC Board of Education Members on Dec. 2, 2025, sent by LCCEA President Adrienne Mitchell, expressing grave concerns that the action item the Board has on their agenda for tomorrow (Dec 3), requiring a vote on $16.5M in budget cuts, is not compliant with Oregon Local Budget Law and will put LCC at dire risk of losing the ability to assess property taxes. 

Property taxes comprise one quarter of the general fund annual revenue at $25M. This would cause significant, possibly irrecoverable, damage to Lane Community College.

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December 2, 2025

Esteemed Board of Education Members,

I am writing to share grave concerns about the new action item that calls for the Board to approve a three year financial plan at tomorrow’s Board of Education meeting.

Approving such a plan would put the College seriously at risk of non-compliance with Oregon Local Budget Law. Please see attached legal memo from attorneys Luke Kuzava and Evianna Colvin that was provided to you on September 30, 2025 on this very same topic.

As noted on September 30, according to attorneys Kuzava and Colvin, 

“Given the circumstances, I want to be as clear as I can be on this point: the LCC Board of Education plainly has no legal authority to approve any proposed budget cuts before those proposed cuts are (1) written into a budget document by the College’s budget officer; (2) presented to the College’s Budget Committee in accordance with the legal requirements of ORS 294.426 (including all public notice and public participation requirements); (3) approved (potentially with revisions) by the budget committee pursuant to ORS 294.428, and (4) providing advance notice of a public “budget hearing” meeting as required by ORS 294.448, and (5) actually holding that “budget hearing” meeting in a manner that provides for public input as required by ORS 294.453.”

To be clear, subverting Oregon Local Budget Law is serious. 

According to Tedesco Law Group attorneys who have reviewed the new plan posted on BoardDocs for tomorrow, “The consequences of failing to comply with the Oregon Local Budget Law can be dire. ORS 294.338(1) provides that the College “may not expend money or certify to the assessor an ad valorem tax rate or estimated amount of ad valorem taxes to be imposed in any year unless” the College has complied with the Local Budget Law. One of the College’s largest sources of revenues come from property taxes. If the College fails to comply with the Local Budget Law, it may risk that significant source of revenue.”

Property taxes comprise more than $25 Million of LCC’s annual revenue.

Risking the loss of this level of funding would be dangerous for our institution and would likely be irrecoverable for Lane Community College.

There is no precedent for any type of similar plan or Board action outside of the official budget development and approval process with full participation of the Board and Budget Committee with public hearings as required by statute. Board Policy does not require any such action. 

And the premise on which the proposal is based is faulty. For background on the exaggerated projections built into LCC’s budget forecasts, watch this video. The Ending fund balance is already ~8% of the general fund. It is not necessary to cut more than $16.5M as noted in the three-year proposed plan. What is required for board policy is that – through the budget development process in the Winter and in compliance with Oregon Local Budget Law in the Spring – the ending fund balance be restored over three years. This will take only ~$2M over three years, and the “plan” is simply that the budget that is produced and approved through the official, legally compliant process in Winter and Spring, must ultimately result in revenues exceeding expenses by restoring less than $1M (i.e., approximately $800K) per year over three years. 

Furthermore, the “plan” before you is NOT a budget cutting plan. The “plan” adds massive expenses in the amount of more than $10.2 Million in “strategic investments” in order to justify cuts of more than $16.5 Million. 

Regardless, none of this is permitted under Oregon Local Budget Law outside the process that is legally required with the Board and community appointees on the Budget Committee in Spring.

Please honor your duty to the public and follow Oregon Public Budget Law. 

“The consequences of failing to comply with the Oregon Local Budget Law can be dire.”

And the institution will be dangerously at risk of losing one quarter of its annual funding in the amount of $25+ Million in annual property tax revenue if you vote or move forward with any budget decisions outside the legally-required process.

Sincerely,

Adrienne
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Adrienne Mitchell, M.A., M.Ed.

Faculty Member, Academic Learning Skills Department

President, Lane Community College Education Association

Vice President, Oregon Education Association Community College Council