Students at Mt. San Jacinto College's Temecula Valley campus and three other locations will see the effects of a $441.6 million spending plan after the Board of Trustees approved the 2026-27 budget on Thursday, Sept. 10.

The budget funds operations, salaries, student financial aid, capital projects and Bond Measure AA construction across a district that serves roughly 30,000 students from the San Gorgonio Pass to Temecula. It is the first budget adopted under Superintendent/President Tawny Dotson, the college's eighth superintendent/president and its first woman to hold the role. Dotson took office July 1.

The largest slice, $196.1 million, goes to the unrestricted general fund. That fund's projected revenue of $153.2 million marks an 8.5% jump from the prior year's adopted budget, driven largely by state apportionments and local property tax receipts.

Faculty and staff will see raises tied to a 4.31% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), according to the college's adopted budget workbook. The COLA combines a 2.87% statutory increase with a 1.44% discretionary bump. To receive the discretionary portion, the district must comply with Assembly Bill 65 and provide employees paid pregnancy disability leave.

Salary spending reflects the investment. Academic salaries in the unrestricted general fund rose 11.26% to $60.1 million, and classified salaries climbed 19.16% to $39.6 million compared with the prior adopted budget.

The budget sets aside $62.9 million in the capital outlay projects fund and $19.8 million in the Bond Project Fund for Measure AA work. Facilities projects include signage and wayfinding upgrades, improvements at the San Jacinto and Menifee Valley campuses, and an HVAC overhaul at the San Jacinto Campus gymnasium, according to the college's announcement.

In her budget message, Dotson wrote that the district has maintained a conservative budget approach and that the adopted general fund reflects the COLA, contractual increases and rising employer costs for retirement and health benefits.

The budget does note that unrestricted general fund expenses exceed revenue for the year. The district attributes that gap to one-time drawdowns of its ending fund balance. The reserve is budgeted at $27 million, above the board's policy requiring roughly 16.7% of operating expenditures be held in reserve.

The five trustees who approved the budget are Board President Tom Ashley, Clerk Vicki Carpenter, Brian Sylva, Calvin L. Smith and Jhalister Corona. The college's announcement did not specify the vote count.