The Del Mar College Board of Regents approved a balanced budget for 2025-26, during which the college will serve more students.
A big change this year is the college’s Freedom to Dream tuition waiver program, which eliminates tuition and fees for eligible freshman students who commit to full-time studies. The program is also open to 2025 high school graduates who participated in dual credit.
Pre-pandemic, Del Mar College was experiencing growth. It has been rebounding over the past few years, but enrollment totals for the fall 2025 semester reflect the highest enrollment increase since 2019. This includes a 32% increase in dual enrollment and a 38% increase in first-time college students.
“We were on such a good trajectory and then COVID really took the legs out from under us and from our students,” board President Carol Scott said during an Aug. 26 Board of Regents meeting. “And so (staff) have come up with some brilliant strategies to bring students back and to change that behavior … from part-time to full-time students.”
In total, more than 3,600 dual credit students have enrolled. More than 1,770 students have signed on to take advantage of the tuition waiver program, making up 15% of the college’s fall 2025 credit students.
The budget includes a 3.5% raise for faculty and staff.
Del Mar College Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Raul Garcia said that factors influencing the budget include changes to the state’s performance-based funding formula, unexpected property tax exemptions and ongoing legislative efforts to restrict access to property tax revenues.
However, the maintenance and operations budget for fiscal year 2026 includes higher revenues, with higher spending to match, than the year previous. This includes a slightly increased total tax rate, which is increasing from about $0.26 per $100 of taxable value to about $0.276 per $100 of taxable value.
According to the Aug. 26 presentation, the average homestead value in the district for fiscal year 2026 is $259,877. For this taxable value, a taxpayer would owe $717 in Del Mar College taxes.
The tax rate is still lower than the tax rate was in 2021-22; however, the average homestead property value has increased since that time.
Taxpayers in the Del Mar College taxing district might be eligible for exemptions that reduce the amount of their appraised value that is taxed. There is a $5,000 homestead exemption, a $50,000 exemption for those 65 and older and those with qualified disability benefits, and a statutory exemption for qualified disabled veterans and qualified charitable organizations.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Del Mar College 2026 budget includes slight tax increase, raises