|
The California
Community College Initiative, Prop. 92 on the February 5, 2008
primary ballot, will:
· Guarantee
minimum funding for growth
· Guarantee
$15 per unit fees that can rise only with the cost of living
· Guarantee
a system of independent community college districts. Prop.92 requires
minimum levels of state funding for the community colleges and allows
community college funding to increase with the growing student
population without raising taxes.
“Why do we need this
initiative?”
Most public
education in California is protected by the state constitution—K-12, the
University of California and the California State University—the only
glaring exception is the California community college system. Without
this protection by the state constitution, funding for the biggest
college system in the nation is unstable.
“How will this
initiative help me and/or the students at Glendale Community College?”
Prop. 92 will help
all the community colleges and its students by ensuring a
minimum amount in funding for growth and reducing the fees for students
to $15 a unit. The fees can rise only with the cost of living. This
will be a great asset to many of our students who are struggling to pay
the current $20 a unit fee by allowing them to count on a more
affordable and predictable student fee.
“So how is this
different from Proposition 98?”
Actually, it will
end the zero-sum game imposed on community colleges by the Prop. 98
splits, which forced the community colleges to advocate shifting money
from K-12 schools. It ensures that the promises made by the legislature
are kept with a property tax guarantee. It ensures that fee revenue
stays with the community colleges for the improvement of education,
instead of being diverted to other state programs. Basically, it will
do for the community colleges what Prop. 98 funding did for public
schools—it will stabilize funding for both.
“Does it raise my
taxes?
How is it funded?
Prop. 92 doesn’t
raise taxes and is not a bond. It is meant to stabilize funding by
calculating the minimum community college funding guarantee based on
community
college growth.
“So what can I do to
help with the passing of this important initiative?”
Glad you asked!
Please help us raise money for the Prop. 92 campaign by writing a
generous check to the PQE that will be sent to the campaign. To learn
more, visit the official website at:
www.californiansforcommunitycolleges.org.
back
to top |