The Foothill-De Anza Board of Trustees held its monthly meeting on Monday Nov. 4 to discuss financial details and how the budget should be handled over the coming years.

“Once the downturn starts it’s too late to marshal your money and marshal your reserves to help you go through it in as smooth a fashion as possible,” said board member Bruce Swenson. “That’s why we need to have a long-term perspective on what our reserve should be and the importance of having money in the bank.”

Swenson discussed the financial crisis of the past few years and how the board was able to deal with the issues.

Swenson covered the ups and downs of the sate economy throughout the years and how the board is preparing for the next downturn.

Swenson brought up the possibility of Proposition 30 not being renewed. The proposition brings in about $8 million a year to the budget and the board is planning on parallel measures or other sources of funding to combat this possible loss of revenue.

De Anza Student Trustee Anita Adams spoke about the statewide student senate assembly she attended, in which students from other colleges asked about how the FHDA Foundation became the first to divest from fossil fuels.

“Everyone was asking how they could do it at their college, so it was very interesting and very fun,” Adams said.

DASB senate President Stacie Rowe presented what the senate is planning in the upcoming months. The group is focused on environmental issues and presenting options to students to be more green.

Vice Chancellor of Business Kevin McElroy said he was optimistic about the upcoming years. “The revenues for the state’s income are meeting or exceeding projections for revenues for the year,” McElroy said. “So we believe we have a solid state budget this year.”