Community College Fees Measure Qualifies for Ballot

By Shane Goldmacher - Bee Capitol Bureau

The Sacramento Bee | Wednesday, April 25, 2007

A measure to lower community college fees has qualified for the February ballot, after the Secretary of State's Office verified that the initiative backers had submitted enough signatures."It has qualified," said Nicole Winger, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Debra Bowen. "It needed 598,105 signatures and we have verified 619,644 signatures."A random sampling of signatures submitted left the measure just shy of qualifying for the 2008 ballot earlier this year, meaning that every single one of the 901,308 signatures submitted had to be individually counted and verified.

The deadline for completing that canvas was Tuesday and the measure qualified. Supporters of the initiative campaign, which has been spearheaded by the Community College League of California, spent $1.36 million on signature-gathering in 2006.

If passed by voters, the initiative would lower the cost of community college per unit to $15 (from the current $20) and change how the 109-campus system is funded, promising a steady share of Proposition 98 funding, while at the same time granting the community college system more autonomy. Future fee increases would be pegged to the cost of living."This initiative will make community college education in California even more affordable by cutting tuition and stabilizing funding for community colleges," said Brice Harris, chancellor of the Los Rios Community College District, which serves the Sacramento area. "It gives every Californian a chance to go to college - without raising taxes or hurting our public schools."Other school groups supporting the measure include the California Federation of Teachers, the California School Employees Association, the Community College League of California, the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges and the Los Angeles College Faculty Guild.The community college measure is the second to qualify for the Feb. 2008 ballot, which will include the presidential primary.

The other initiative, sponsored by transportation advocates, was abandoned during the signature submission process in 2006 but still managed to qualify. Other measures circulating or discussed that voters may see next February include an initiative recommending the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, two measures covering eminent domain, process by which government can seize private property, and an initiative that would change the number of years lawmakers can serve in the state Legislature.