Jerry Brown

Dear Jerry Brown,

It is pretty apparent that the California public colleges took a huge hit do to the recession, and continuingly with all enormous budget cuts. This current situation is putting California’s great reputation for Junior colleges at risk. For the past two years I have been at Foothill College in Los Altos, CA and have observed drastic academic changes ranging from a massive increase in tuition for students to a major downsize in curriculum. This does not sit well with me.

The first year I enrolled at foothill, I had the option to take geology for my laboratory science requirement, which I thoroughly enjoyed. When I went to enroll the following year for the second geology course, the course was no longer available. In trying to figure out why, I discovered that the entire Geology program had been cancelled due to budget cuts. When I took the fist geology class there was a very high demand for this course, I remember students continuously trying to add during the fist week of the quarter. Unfortunately most of them didn’t succeed because the class was extremely full.

A large amount of students attend community college, because it is a much cheaper option in comparison to a UC, state, or private school. How much longer is this cheaper tuition going to be cheap? Where will we draw the line with tuition costs at junior colleges, when they seem to be getting steeper every year? How many students will be denied education before we realize that these steadily increasing prices need to stop. When the cost of gas and everything else in our economy seems to be skyrocketing, why should our education be at risk too? Do to these fiscal increases, it is pretty apparent that people in my generation will need to get a college degree to not only survive, but to stimulate the economy. Given the current circumstances, a lot of people wont have the opportunity to go to college if the cost of education is so high.

The vitality of California students, and our American way of life is being jeopardized. Do you realize what impact this has on the next generation? If we are expected to run the country how are we supposed to accomplish this without a post-secondary education? These budget cuts are limiting not only the number of students who can attend school, but also the level of education. These budget cuts and increased tuition is going to end up eliminating our countries stability and the American way of life. We need to stop this destruction before things get any worse. Reallocation of cost to individuals who can actually afford a small decrease in their net profit might be a temporary solution.