Dismal News for Community Colleges

Your survey of Orange County school district budget cuts for next year (“District-by-District Look at Cuts,” May 14) painted a bleak picture as far as it went. Unfortunately, you left out the county’s community college districts. They are also part of the dismal school finance scenario.

If Proposition 98 is suspended, Orange County’s community colleges face an additional cut of some $30 million next year. The declining state revenues have already activated a reduction in funding for all California schools, including community colleges.

The suspension of Proposition 98 would be a double whammy on the schools.

We are in an economic recession. Ironically, with adequate funding, California community colleges play a significant role in promoting the state’s economic development through training of a skilled work force.

While state university tuition increases are driving students away, adequately funded community colleges maintain accessible, affordable higher education opportunities for all residents.

The state expects community colleges to provide remedial, English-as-a-second-language, and adult non-credit instruction.

Community colleges can and want to do all of the above, but in Orange County, we get what the state is willing to pay for.

LEONARD LAHTINEN, Board of Trustees, North Orange County Community College District