ACCCA Supports Proposition 30
ACCCA’s Board of Directors recently announced the organization would officially endorse
proposition 30 over proposition 38. Prop 30, introduced by Governor Jerry Brown, seeks to raise
taxes on income earners over $250,000 per year to add additional funding for the state’s
educational programs and public schools. Proposition 38, introduced by attorney Molly Munger,
advocates a broader tax increase to also primarily support education.
Said President-Elect William Duncan (Sierra College CEO), “It is imperative that California
increases and strengthens its investment in education to ensure that the state will have the 21st
century workforce it needs to fully recover and prosper. Without increased investment in
education, California will be left with a system that creates a permanent underclass of
unprepared and unskilled workers.”
Acknowledging that the community college system in California is facing an additional $338
million in cuts if Gov. Brown’s initiative fails in November, the Association’s Executive
Director Susan Bray stressed the urgency of the success of the initiative in November.
“I want to encourage everyone who is seeking to preserve the state’s community college system,
already devastated by $809 million in cuts since 2008-09, to vote YES on Prop 30 this
November”, she said. “If we truly want to strengthen the workforce and boost our state’s
economy, we first must stop this short-sighted divestment in our public education system.”
Joining California Community College’s Board of Governors and the Community College
League of California, ACCCA has taken this position to encourage other statewide education
organizations to come out in vocal support of the initiative and work towards its passage. She
noted that all education organizations in California should be informing their members and
constituents and doing everything possible to get out the vote.
Due to reductions in funding and frequent deferrals, enrollment at the state’s 112 community
colleges has declined by nearly 500,000 students since 2008-09. Course offerings have been cut
nearly 25 percent, but demand for classes has soared as high schools produce more graduates,
unemployed workers seek vocational training and returning veterans seek a college education.
If Proposition 30 passes, the community colleges would receive $210 million in additional funds
in 2012-13. While most of that money would be used to make good on deferred funding
commitments by the state to colleges, it would also allow an additional 20,000 students to enter
the system.
Conversely, if Proposition 30 fails, a $338 million cut in the middle of the academic year would
mean 180,000 fewer students would be served. Colleges would be forced to slash course
offerings even further, lay off more educators and staff and borrow more. These cuts would also
occur if a competing measure, Proposition 38, receives more votes than Proposition 30. For more
information, visit www.accca.org or click on ‘Advocacy.’