Students Call on the Governor to Fund Community Colleges

As students return to the state's 12 community colleges this week they are being greeted by teams of volunteers with petitions to Gov Lamont demanding that funding be restored. “Paying more but receiving less” the fliers declare.

Community colleges are the bedrock of higher education for high school graduates who cannot afford a four year school. The two year community college degree is a pathway to skilled trades and other careers for thousands of young people in Connecticut including many students of color.

The state-wide Recovery for All coalition organized rallies and testimonies to the Appropriations and Higher Education Committee public hearings this spring to raise the alarm that the community colleges are in danger with a shortfall in funding.

Funding community colleges is a matter of achieving equity was a theme of many testimonies. The need to make community college free while fully funding them by taxing the rich were ideas also presented to the legislature during public hearings..

But cuts went into affect in the new budget. The legislature and governor reduced funding in the budget based on lower enrollment during the pandemic. But that is coming back while special funding during the pandemic ends.

A press conference in mid August at the community college in Hartford itemized what is being cut there as a result of the state budget including cafeteria services, the director of career services position, reduced tutoring and English-as-a-Second Language, or ESL, support.

Other locations face reduced library hours and access, reduced specialized academic programs, and reduced food pantry availability.

The CT News Junkie reports that Connecticut State including all higher education has 68 fewer full-time and 1,754 fewer faculty positions compared to 2019.

“It's a crisis,” declared Seth Freeman, president of the Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges and a professor at Capital Community College..

“Connecticut State Community College is opening this fall, and it’s already failing our students and failing our state,” Freeman said, calling upon the Board of Regents to rely on a combined $125 million in reserves – $99 million for the community colleges and another $25 million for the system overall – to restore the funding. “

The flyers greeting students warn that next year's budget deficit is three times as large and the time to act in now. They feature a QR code to a page with a letter to email to Gov. Lamont, their state legislators and Chancellor Cheng.

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