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Editorial: Words are cheap, education isn't The (Medford) Mail Tribune Community colleges are the workhorses of education. They teach job skills - truck driving to computer skills - and lower-level academic courses that set the foundation for students college careers. Like the workhorse, they get little of the glory and, in Oregon at least, far too little of the money. A series of stories on community colleges that concludes today has laid out in grim detail the problems facing the state's two-year institutions. Declining state support, rapidly increasing tuition, faculty layoffs and a lack of building maintenance have left the system in dire straits. Gov. Ted Kulongoski and the Republican-dominated state Legislature seem to have little sympathy for community colleges' plight. Even as enrollment is skyrocketing, funding has been cut $35 million lost in the current biennium and a proposal by the governor to cut it by another $19 million in the next biennium. Community colleges were the only arm of education to be targeted for cuts by the governor. But if you listen to legislators and the governor, you hear nothing but support. They say the right things - community colleges are the last best hope for some to improve their lives; community colleges help drive local economies; community colleges provide an affordable bridge between high school and four-year colleges. But words are cheap, and funding education at any level is not. It's perhaps unfair to criticize state leaders, who have been handcuffed by declining revenues and recalcitrant voters. But what's happening to community colleges is unquestionably unfair. Education, like most government services, differs from the private sector in that the more customers you attract, the more your financial situation deteriorates. By normal standards, Oregon's community colleges have been wildly successful. Statewide, enrollment increased by more than 6 percent in the past year, with 102,000 full-time and 300,000 part-time students. Rogue Community College has grown 6 to 10 percent a year, with 18,000 students enrolled in Jackson and Josephine counties. But that success breeds problems because tuition covers only 30 percent of the cost. The state general fund and a variety of other sources make up the difference or in the current case, don't make up the difference. Barring a change of heart by the Legislature and governor, there are two choices for community colleges: raise tuition again (RCC's tuition has increased 31 percent in three years) or cut programs. We urge community college leaders to resist additional tuition increases. One of the staples of the two-year colleges is providing an affordable option for working-class families. Tuition increases threaten to leave those families with no real option at all. It is better - painful, but better - to reduce programs and not try to be all things to all people. Community colleges exist in communities that have particular needs and economic opportunities and the colleges should focus their programs accordingly, while providing the basic lower-level academic courses. It is not a very palatable choice. But it is a better choice than continuing to put education further out of reach for many Oregonians. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -