Our Future is in Our Hands

David Yancey, FA, AFT 6157 President

By now most of you are becoming aware of the Community College Initiative and its importance to the future of community college funding and therefore directly its importance to you and me. As Jonathan Lightman, the Executive Director of FACCC said at a recent Bay Area Faculty meeting in Oakland the original percentage of community college enrollment that factored into the Proposition 98 education measure in 1990 has grown dramatically without a corresponding change in the funding to community colleges. He also said that the total amount of funding coming to education from the state is based on a enrollment of the K-12 sector, that is currently declining, which will mean an ever decreasing pot of money to be shared between K-12 and the Community Colleges.

That is not the right trend to follow, says Lightman; it should be the Community College enrollment, which is trending up, that should decide how much money the college system gets. The Community College initiative will do just that.

Unity among All Ranks in the Community College Structure
To policy wonks like me, what makes this initiative unique is the political unity it has created. It has brought all the components of the California community college system together to form a unified effort from the state chancellor’s office and state wide faculty organizations to local district boards of trustees, district chancellors and local union leaders—all working together to support the CCI.

The reason for such unanimity is that the benefit is so wide spread and goes so deep into each district, college, and campus. It is fair to say that from the peak of the state and college administrative structures to the individual employee, faculty, classified staff, and students will benefit from the passage of this initiative.

On Friday, September 28, 2007, members of your union AFT 6157 Executive Board, Executive Director, Barbara Hanfling; Grievance Office and negotiation team member, Debbie De la Rosa; full time EVC campus representative, Minerva Duke; and myself attended an enlightening, encouraging CFT sponsored session where the efforts to organize and promote the CCI were described. Our parent union, the CFT, is putting forth an enormous effort in support of this initiative.

We met and heard from Ken Burt, the political director for CFT, Fred Glass, the Communications Director and from a public relations group, Acosta/Salazar, LLC who are all promoting media events around the state, and it was very well done with all of the professional touches one sees in major campaigns in our political season. Mr. Salazar was a member of the media and public relations department in former President Clinton’s Administration.

The list of supporters ranges from members of the Congress to California State Senators and Assembly members to a list of state and county and City office holders, many Labor Councils around the state, as well as a lengthy list of community college trustees and presidents. Many public entities have passed resolutions supporting the CCI, including our district and the Board of Trustees.

Chancellor Rosa Perez has been a strong voice and recently arranged for the District Foundation to donate $25,000 dollars to support the successful passage of the CCI. The FA, AFT 6157 COPE fund and members, voluntary donations by our full and adjunct faculty have also made significant donations, $11,000 to help qualify and pass this initiative. Your Executive Board members have also made important donations. More on your role in fund raising will follow later in this article.

Why is the Community College Initiative So Important?
Historically, the community college system has provided an affordable and accessible pathway to college educations. Low student fees and financial aid have made it possible for millions of Californians to have a better life. We all know that those with a college education make on average far higher wages than those without them. In California we have 109 community college campuses compared to the CSU system of 23 and the UC system which has 10 campuses. Our enrollment is over 2.5 million diverse and hard working students, five times more than the other two systems combined.

We provide far more access and opportunity to people of color than the other two systems by huge margins. In fact over 70% of the college students in this state are in community colleges. It is also the main gateway for our diverse student population into the CSU and UC systems. It would make eminent sense that the two other educational systems in this state should be huge supporters of this proposition, but the CSU faculty organization is not. Further, we know that community college students, after they transfer to the CSU and UC systems, maintain GPAs equal to those students who started in CSU or UC as freshmen.

The community college system suffers in enrollment when fees are raised. When the fees for students in community college went up in 2004 we lost over 300,000 community college students. Our student population is very tuition sensitive and we must keep fees low. The Community College Initiative (CCI) will lower student fees to $15.00 and tie any increases to the cost of living; which in reality means they will stay at fifteen dollars for the foreseeable future.

Students and the District Will Benefit from the CCI
In terms of how our students will benefit and by extension the whole economy of California, we need to look no further than the projected needs for workers in this state.

California will need a growing percentage of its work force to be college educated workers. Nurses, teachers, engineers and others will be needed to make the California economy competitive and the community colleges’ dual role of transfer and vocational training is a major provider of those educated workers. And if investment means anything, then the return on education is a critical factor and for every dollar the state puts into community college educations they receive a $3.00 return on that investment. Our students and the taxpayers WIN.

Supporting the CCI is also an opportunity to be part of something historic. This initiative will finally create a community college system that is funded by counting its students population and their needs and not the K-12 system as well as identifying community colleges as a state educational entity like the CSU and UC systems. In giving the community colleges in California its own system designation with a guarantee of local autonomy it will provide our colleges protection from the political whims of whoever is the Governor.

Why Each and Every Faculty Member Must Make A Contribution!
So, what can you do? CONTRIBUTE! If you have not given something to support this effort then please do. We have attached an envelope for your convenience in making a donation. If you have given then please think about giving just a little more. If you have questions then contact me or any other Executive Board member for answers. The amount is your choice but the key to winning this election is $$$$$$.

Unfortunately, the rightness of your position, the quality of your argument, or the benefit to all this initiative will bring is no guarantee of victory. We must raise enough money, about $5 million statewide, to ensure our initiative will have what it needs to become law. Each district has a minimum amount of money to raise but the fact is that those limits are low if we are to ensure winning.

We are also going to have a number of events in our area: some sponsored by our district, others by the local Labor Council and others by our sister districts in this area. We need help promoting and putting on these events so please join us in making this all happen. You will get a very rewarding feeling knowing that you are personally helping in making our students chance for success greater and their lives better.