Letter to the Editor, November 1, 2012
To The Editor,
After $20 billion in budget cuts and 30,000 teachers laid off, it's time to take a stand for our schools. Proposition 30 will protect California's schools and colleges from additional billions in devastating budget cuts this year. Educators support Prop 30 because it will restore class offerings, prevent a shortened school year, thousands of teacher layoffs and steep tuition increases for families that are already struggling in a tough economy.
The California dream was based on a system of public schools and colleges that gave every Californian a hold on the economic ladder. We cannot continue cutting our community colleges and keep the California dream alive and our economy strong for the next generation.
California was once home to the greatest higher education system in the world. For more than 150 years, our public colleges and universities have given Californians the tools to reach a better future, support our economy and train leaders across every industry in our state. Today California has dropped to 47th in the nation in "per pupil spending." This is unacceptable.
The 2008 enrollment in the California Community Colleges has decreased by 485,000 and course sections have been reduced by 24 percent. In the San Jose Evergreen Community College District sections have been reduced by 10 percent, and nearly 7,100 students are on waiting lists. Faculty and staff have been reduced by 20 percent.
A balanced approach is essential to navigating difficult economic times, but one thing is clear. It is time to draw a line in the sand to protect funding for schools and higher education.
Our community college system is central to our state's identity and has long been one of our most important competitive advantages in attracting talented people and businesses to call California home. Our colleges provide a pathway to college degrees and job training for a new economy. California is one of the great economic engines in the world. We have an economy that has thrived because the minds of brilliant thinkers like Steve Jobs and the Packard brothers who took root here. These innovators saw the golden future our state promised. No great economy can continue to thrive without an educated and motivated work force.
Prop 30 will allow us to bypass legislative gridlock and draw a line to protect schools and colleges.
Let's take a stand to protect our future.
Sincerely,
Rita M. Cepeda Ed.D. Chancellor of San Jose Evergreen Community College District and David R. Yancey is the president of San Jose Evergreen Faculty Association.