FACCC URGES YOU TO CONTACT LEGISLATIVE LEADERS AND GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER

FACCC Special Bulletin - June 12, 2006

FACCC urges you to contact Legislative Leaders and Governor Schwarzenegger, as the Assembly and Senate will soon vote to adopt, amend, or reject the package put together by the Joint Legislative Budget Conference Committee right away, as it pieces together the community college budget (see e-mail addresses and sample message below).

On June 10, the Joint Legislative Budget Conference Committee adopted a budget to provide community colleges with an additional $675 million in ongoing funds, and $280 million in one-time funds.

Among the items adopted by the Conference Committee were:

Equalization at $159.4 million
Student fees at $20 per unit (Spring semester implementation)
Matriculation at $24 million
Non-credit career and college prep at $30 million
Part-Time Health Benefits at $5 million
Part-Time Office Hours at $4 million
Professional Development Funding at $5 million (one-time funds)

Please send a budget message (see below for sample message) to Legislative Leaders, your own legislators, and Governor Schwarzenegger.

The Legislative Leadership is as follows:

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez: speaker.nunez@assembly.ca.gov
Assembly Minority Leader George Plescia: assemblymember.plescia@assembly.ca.gov
Senate President pro Tempore Don Perata: senator.perata@sen.ca.gov
Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman: senator.ackerman@sen.ca.gov

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:
www.govmail.ca.gov (Please visit this website to email the Governor.)

_______________________________________________________________


SAMPLE MESSAGE:

Date

Your Name
Address

Re: Community College Board of Governors
6870-101-0001

Dear (Mr. Speaker/Senator Perata/Governor Schwarzenegger)

I urge you to adopt the community college budget as recommended by the Joint Legislative Budget Conference Committee. The additional $675 million in ongoing funds and $280 million in one-time funds will help enable California’s community colleges to meet unprecedented demographic and educational challenges.

Specifically, I urge you to support the following:

1) Student Fee Reduction -- lowering fees to $20 per credit unit;
2) Equalization at $159.4 million
3) Part-Time Office Hours and Health Benefits at $9 million for the two programs
4) Professional Development at $5 million in one-time funds.

Each of these items is critically important to faculty, students and districts alike. Taken together, they will restore access and affordability, while improving working conditions for faculty. [Add personal comments here.]

For too many years, community colleges suffered from a lack of appropriate funding. Given the availability of additional revenues, please make community colleges a top priority in the 2006-07 budget. Your support for the Joint Legislative Budget Conference Committee's recommendations is sincerely appreciated.

Sincerely,

Your Name