I’m using this post to draft preliminary thoughts for an op-ed piece or letter-to-the-editor about the importance of supporting some of the measures on the ballot that impact community colleges.

Some well known facts about community colleges:

1. When the economy is in trouble, the state cuts the budget.
2. When the economy is in trouble, unemployment is rising.
3. When unemployment rises, enrollment demand for community college classes rises (community colleges are the primary resource for re-training or upgrading job skills).
4. When the state cuts the budget, (see #1), the community colleges get cut back and can’t meet enrollment demand for re-training or upgrading of skills.
5. It is not a big leap to realize that cutting back the community colleges in economic downturns has a retrograde influence on economic recovery; it would make better sense to increase community college funding at these times to strengthen the workforce.

Some additional thoughts that ought to be obvious if they are not:

• Crime also rises during economic downturns.
• People who are improving themselves with retraining or developing new skills are less likely to turn to crime for solutions to their problems.
• Could better funding for community colleges during economic downturns help reduce crime growth?

Some Q and A

Q – Will California”s Proposition 30 provide new money for Community Colleges? 

A – No. 

Q – Will it avert triggered additional cutbacks in January?

A – Yes.

Q – Will the Chabot/Las Positas Community College District Measure I provide growth money for the district’s colleges?

A – No.

Q – Will it help offset some of the cuts of the past two years and possible additional cuts in January?

A – That depends on what happens with Proposition 30, but Measure I will definitely help to stabilize the district budget for the next seven years.