by Dennis Frisch

The California Community College Initiative has been approved by the State Attorney General's Office for circulation to collect signature to place the initiative before California voters in June 2008.  After a bit of a false start last spring, the efforts to change the constitutional and funding status of California community college is underway.

What is needed now is a statewide, concerted campaign among faculty, classified staff, students, administrators, and Boards of Trustees to collect 598,105 signatures to qualify the initiative for the June 2008 ballot AND to raise $1.5 million to pay for the signature collecting campaign.   To collect 598,105 valid signatures, it is estimated that the campaign will have to gather 1 million signatures.  There is a 150 day window to collect signatures from the time the Attorney General certifies the initiative.  This can be done through a combination of both volunteer efforts (faculty, students, classified staff, administrators, Trustees) and paid signature gatherers.

You, as faculty, have a big stake in this effort because current population projections for the next ten years do not look good for community college funding if we continue with the current Prop 98 formula.  That formula is based on the K-12 population, which is stagnant and projected to decline.  That will mean less money for community colleges, which already are not receiving their fair share of Prop 98 money.  Students have a big stake in this initiative campaign because, if successful, the initiative would lower student fees to $15 and put in place a mechanism to make it much more difficult to raise student fees.  Classified staff, administrators, and trustees have a big stake in the success of the initiative campaign because the new funding formula would base community college funding on changes and growth in the population age groups served by community colleges not the K-12 population.  This will mean higher funding levels for Santa Monica College.

Here are more details on the most significant parts of the initiative:

      FUNDING:  Starting in 2007-08 (for purposes of calculation), the minimum funding guarantee would increase based on growth and changes in the college-age population.  The growth factor would be the sum of the following percentages:  1) the greater of (a) the percentage change in the population of California residents between 17 and 21 years of age or (b) the percentage change in the population of California residents between 22 and 25 years of age; 2) the prior year's unemployment rate less 5% (this would kick in only when unemployment was above 5%).  No matter what the above calculations were, the community college growth factor is capped at 5% in any year.  And, the growth factor cannot be less than 1% depending on an enrollment formula.

      When the initiative takes effect, the initial portion of Prop 98 money allocated to community colleges would be 10.46% (the 2004-05 split).

      STUDENT FEES:  When the initiative goes into effect, student fees would roll back to $15, or if lower, the existing fee at that time.  Future annual increases in student fees would be capped at 10% or, if lower, the percentage change in per capita personal income in California.  The initiative would not require any fee increases.

      GOVERNANCE:  The initiative would place community colleges on a constitutional standing like that of the University of California and the California State Universities.  The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges would be established in the Constitution.  The number and composition of the Board would change, and the Board's powers would be expanded to include appointing the Chancellor and Vice-chancellors.  Currently, such appointments occur in the Governor's office.

In the next few weeks, you will be hearing more and more about the initiative and you will be called upon to volunteer to collect signatures and help to raise contributions for the campaign.  There is much at stake for the future of  community colleges in California.