Community Colleges

California’s 108 community colleges serve nearly three million students annually, a total that is four and a half times as many as the California State University and the University of California systems combined.

Bottom line, if someone does not have the skills, grades or money to get into a four-year university, a local community college is a viable path to higher education and a more productive role in California’s economy.

Yet, despite, their vital role, California’s community colleges (CCCs) are caught up in the on-going budget crisis in Sacramento.

On May 14, the governor announced his latest proposed budget cuts, including $300 million in cuts to the community colleges and fee increases from $11 to $18 per unit.

Administrators, faculty and students are fighting to minimize the damage of the proposed cuts to a system they believe is the most affordable and efficient higher education system in the country. In fact, in 2001 community college fees in California were not only the lowest in the nation but less than half that of the next lowest state, New Mexico

Currently, 94% of the costs of educating students at California community colleges are subsidized by the state. However, dollar for dollar, less is spent per student at the community colleges than on UC or CSU students. For example, the state spends $10,430 per student in the UC system, twice the amount spent per community college student.

Ron Galatolo, chancellor of the San Mateo Community College District, puts it this way: “There are times when at the end of the day I say to myself, it almost seems like we’re fighting an impossible task here.”

In boardrooms across California, community college chancellors like Ron are assembling their staffs to figure out how on earth they are going to cut millions from already stretched campus budgets.

We talked to students at L.A. Valley College and San Mateo Community College, many of who would not have been able to get a college education if it were not for the affordable California community college system.

They face uncertainty in whether or not they will be able to complete their programs of study. Classes will have to be cut, at one campus by the hundreds. Faculty let go. Entire courses of study dropped. Students worry about being “stranded” mid-program or about taking longer to finish their degrees.

At the end of the day, many in the community college system feel the state government is being short sighted when it cuts the budget. They argue that community colleges are the least expensive way to train a state work force, which could then contribute to the state economy.

President of L.A. Valley College Tyree Wieder shares the belief that the current budget crisis will dramatically impact programs. “People kind of say, oh, we’ve had bad times before. But everybody understands that right now, on this campus, we’ve never had a time like this. Ever.”