In 2006, a proposal from the California Community College Initiative appeared that would further reduce the cost of student tuition from $20 to $15 per unit and would establish community colleges in the constitution, including them as a separate part of the public school system.
This proposal is set to appear on the February state ballot and would stabilize and secure funding for the growing amount of students attending community colleges across the state.
“Polling shows that it will pass,” said BC President William Andrews.
In effect, it will split the existing Proposition 98 funding guarantee for K-14 schools into one guarantee for K-12 schools and a separate for community colleges. Prop. 98 guarantees an annual increase in education in the California community college system.
“The proposal stabilizes funding for California community colleges,” said Andrews. “In coalition with Prop. 98, it will stabilize funding for students in K-14. We will essentially be taking the pot and splitting it up.”
Prop. 98 was passed in 1988 and has since seen many changes. It requires that a minimum annual percentage of the state budget be spent on K-14 education. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, it is intended to assist the legislature in understanding the basic mechanics of the proposition and showing how it has affected school spending since it passed.
This measure will change Prop. 98 so that it establishes a formula with separate funding guarantees for the community college system and for the K-12 system. According to the LAO, beginning in 2007-08, the total amount of General Fund and local property tax revenues allocated to school districts and community colleges would be calculated separately for each system.
The proposal will also put a cap of no more than a five percent increase in fees in any year but cannot be less than one percent, so long as the percentage of state residents enrolled at community colleges is less than the average enrollment rate over the preceding 20 years.
“Right now there is a decline in K-12 enrollment,” said Andrews. “Community College enrollment is going in the opposite direction.”
In this scenario, if the proposal passes the community colleges will recieve more funding.