As noted in an from Chancellor Jack Scott, these are somthings that we should consider as we move to the future:
The Challenges Ahead
While I would like nothing more than to tell you that we anticipate a strong recovery of the state budget in the near future, this is not the case. California’s fiscal crisis is rooted first and foremost in the worldwide economic collapse. While the world and U.S. economies have shown some signs of turnaround in recent months, all indications are that the recovery will be slow and take an extended period of time. Further, the California economy, the epicenter of the foreclosure crisis, appears to be on an even slower course to recovery than the rest of the nation. Until the economy regains its strength, the California state budget will continue its struggles.
Focusing on Key Priorities
As we move forward though these difficult times, the work of the California Community Colleges has never been more important. Unemployed Californians rely on the community colleges for the retraining they need to find employment and advance in their chosen professions. Students displaced from UC and CSU due to budget cuts will come to our doors to begin their higher educations. California businesses depend on the community colleges to provide the skilled workers needed to compete and prosper in the today’s global economy. While the budget cuts we have experienced will make it harder for us to meet these needs and there is no question our overall capacity to serve students will diminish, we must do what we can with the resources we are provided to meet these critical needs.
These tough times will not last forever, however. When we look back, the test of our worth will be how well we managed to meet the critical educational needs of Californians during challenging fiscal times and how well we preserved the core instructional and student support infrastructure of our colleges. In the weeks and months ahead, I assure you that I will be doing everything possible to look out for the interests of the community colleges in the state budget process and will provide you with timely and accurate updates concerning new developments.
More and more students will be going the community college route and the system will have its work cut out for it. We will be working together to help students receive quality service with the resources available.
