Budget-writing committee releases the budget for community colleges
Dana Haynes can be reached at: dana.haynes@pcc.edu
The purpose of this blog is to provide accurate information about Portland Community College's lobbying effort during the 2009 legislature.
Dana Haynes, spokesman for PCC, joined the college in June 2007 after 20 years spent in Oregon newspaper newsrooms.
Holy smokes.
The Education Sub-Committee of the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee voted out a budget for Oregon’s 17 community colleges this morning.
I had written in earlier blogs that the number might be as low as $425 million (down from $500 million in the 2007-09 budget). On Tuesday, I said I’d heard the number $440 million bandied about.
The number the sub-committee came to: $450.5 million.
That means a 10 percent cut for community colleges during this incredible recession.
That, frankly, is a huge success for us. That is a number we can live with.
The lawmakers on Ways and Means are grappling with such incredibly tough issues right now. I don’t envy them one bit.
Key leadership on this issue came from Sens. Margaret Carter and Rod Monroe, and from Reps. Dave Hunt and Peter Buckley. Two other guys who fought hard for us are Reps. Larry Galizio and Michael Dembrow. If you get a chance to thank any of them, do so.
Our budget still has to go to the full Ways and Means Committee, and to both the full House and Senate. Plus it requires the governor’s signature. So we’re not home yet.
We’ll keep you posted.
dana
Release: leg 105
Posted: June 17, 2009