Why I'm Asking You to Support Proposition 92--The California Community College Initiative on the February 2008 Ballot

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Valerie Novak
San Joaquin Delta College student

As a working, single mom, attending community college was my only affordable option for a higher education. I’m proud that I’m attending community college with my daughter, and thankful that we can afford it.

It hasn’t been easy though. A few years ago, fees jumped dramatically when my son, daughter, and I enrolled in our local community college. Paying the fees for three of us was a real struggle.

While I am in school, I work different jobs to make our goals in education possible, both as a trained private chef and a community instructor in food preparation. When I complete my studies at the community college level, I plan to transfer to a four-year institution to pursue my degrees in nutritional science. My goal is to achieve the degrees required for a professional dietetic career that will include teaching in the community college system.

I’m not alone in the struggle to pay for higher education. Ask any community college student trying to earn an income, and they will tell you how important low, stable fees are to them. Every dollar up or down in fees makes a huge difference.

In 2004 when fees were raised to $26 per unit, 305,000 students fewer students than expected enrolled.

Unfortunately, community college students suffer due to political games year after year.

When the Legislature doubled student fees in 2003-04, they also cut the state’s contribution to community colleges by an equal amount. This meant that the community colleges were no better off and that the students paid more. It also meant that once again the students were pawns in the budget battle.

Now, Californians, including students like myself, have the opportunity to support something that will lower fees and take the politics out of funding for community colleges – Proposition 92 on the February 5th, 2008 statewide ballot. By lowering student fees and ensuring that the fees stay stable, we will provide even more Californians a chance to go to college and make a better life for themselves.