The Ventura County Community College Trustees will hold a study session on the 2004-2005 budget Friday. They also are expected to move forward with their search for a new chancellor for the district.

The special meeting begins at noon in the Cowan Conference Center at the Camarillo Airport.

At the meeting, the trustees are expected to get an update on the 2004-2005 budget. They also are being asked to approve a budget amendment to transfer $1.5 million into the district's reserve account.

The transfer is essentially a midyear budget cut, with the money coming from a variety of district accounts and from all three colleges. Some of it is coming from savings from unfilled positions and class reductions, and some of the money is coming from accounts where money has been saved or hasn't been spent yet, said interim Chancellor Bill Studt.

"We're taking dollars out of those accounts and into the district reserves," Studt said. "Some are one-time dollars and some are ongoing cuts."

District officials hope to shore up the district's reserve account, which has dropped to about 3 percent of the district's general fund budget. The low reserve fund and two years of budget problems landed the district on a state watch list for financially troubled community college districts.

Studt hopes putting more money in the reserve will aid the district in getting off the watch list and will give the district a larger cushion going into 2004-2005.

"The goal is to get at 5 percent or above in the reserves," Studt said. "We may need to use some of that money depending on how bad this (2004-2005 budget) thing is."

The trustees also are gearing up for their search for a new chancellor for the district. Friday they will be asked to approve the membership of the search committee and the hiring of a consultant to aid in the search, said Trustee Mary Anne Rooney, who sits on the subcommittee overseeing the search.

The committee will be made up of 29 people, including students, faculty, staff, managers and community members. The search consultant will be used to help recruit candidates and do background checks, Rooney said.

The district has had two interim chancellors since Philip Westin resigned in 2002. The job is now being advertised, and the closing date for applications is March 18. Trustees hope to have the position filled by the end of May.