President's Office

October 8, 2025

Dear Colleagues,

Every day, I am reminded of the passion and commitment you bring to Skyline College. I want to take a few moments to share where we stand as a college and how we are moving forward together.

Across higher education, many institutions are grappling with deficits, rising costs, and shrinking revenues. Because of our community-supported funding model and our tradition of fiscal prudence, Skyline College’s fiscal health is strong. In the last fiscal year, our adopted budget allocation was approximately $59.5 million, with an additional $4.5 million in transfers. Total compensation costs were about $55 million, and we ended the year with $2.9 million in one-time savings. These funds have not yet been allocated, and Cabinet and leadership are in active discussion about how best to reinvest them. I look forward to sharing more information about this with you during the President’s Town Hall in November, which will also mark my first 100 work days as your president.

At the same time, we must be realistic about the current environment. We live in a time of cost escalation, where construction, technology, healthcare, and even basic supplies increase in price every year. Having funds today does not guarantee security tomorrow. Our continued strength depends on each of us being mindful of budget impacts in our daily work. Every dollar saved is another opportunity created for our students.

Another area of progress this semester is hiring. We initiated two key leadership searches: for the Dean of Counseling and Matriculation, and for the Vice President of Administrative Services. For these searches, we are working with the executive search firm Another Source. This is a strategic choice, not a routine practice. Partnering with a search firm gives us access to wider and more diverse candidate pools, adds credibility and fairness to the process, and provides the capacity to manage complex searches efficiently. The cost, about $11,200 per search, is being covered through one-time efficiency allocations. In the case of the VPAS search, the District is sharing the cost. These funds are not drawn from instructional or student services budgets. Our goal is to bring in leaders who share our values and will help Skyline College continue to thrive. The best way to predict our future is to create our future, and these hires are a vital part of doing just that.

We are in a paradoxical moment. On the one hand, we hold resources; on the other, we live in an uncertain climate. But uncertainty is not defeat—it is possibility. What will carry us forward is not chance, but choice: our choice to act with courage, discipline, and unity. Our greatest strength is not simply the dollars in our budget, but the people of Skyline College—faculty, classified professionals, and students—who bring those resources to life. People and community feed a culture; culture then feeds strategy.

Every moment of transition is also a moment of renewal. When we invest wisely, we don’t just spend money—we shape futures. Together, we will continue to make Skyline College fiscally sound, mission-driven, student-centered, and ready for tomorrow.

With gratitude, 

Nate Carter 

President, Skyline College