This content was published: May 20, 2009. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Taking the budget battle to the Capitol on Thursday.
Photos and story by Dana Haynes
On Monday, the Ways and Means committee of the Oregon Legislature unveiled a budget that would mean 17.5 percent cuts to community colleges. And by Tuesday, the fans of community colleges were wading into it, big time.
That budget would have dropped funding for the 17 colleges from $500 million in 2007-09 to $423 million in 2009-11.
Yesterday, Sen. Rod Monroe of Portland called that budget “unacceptable” and is seeking a budget of $460 million to $465 million. Sen. Betsy Johnson of Scappoose is standing up for us. Sen. Margaret Carter of Portland has always been a backer of community colleges.
So we’re taking a delegation down to Salem on Thursday to thank our supporters and to confront those who back the draconian budget cut, which would be much deeper in terms of percentages than those proposed for K-12 and the Oregon University System.
President Pulliams, various campus presidents and student leaders will join together to get the message to our lawmakers.
We’re fired up. We’ll let you know how it goes.
dana
About Dana Haynes
Dana Haynes, joined PCC in 2007 as the manager of the Office of Public Affairs, directing the college's media and government relations. Haynes spent the previous 20 years as a reporter, columnist and editor for Oregon newspapers, including ... more »