Corbett backs more aid to community colleges

DAVENPORT - Too much of the burden for paying for a community college education has fallen to students and more of the cost should be shifted back to the state, Republican candidate for governor Ron Corbett said Thursday in Davenport.

Corbett, who is in the midst of a tour of the state's community colleges, visited Scott Community College's downtown campus, which still is under construction.

The challenger to Gov. Kim Reynolds in the GOP primary criticized the prospect of midyear cuts to the colleges, arguing they undercut what the governor and others have said is the state's biggest economic challenge: a better-educated and skilled workforce.

'If it's the biggest challenge facing the state that we need our citizens to have more than just a high school education, why are you making it harder for them by raising tuition at the community colleges, and that's what's going to happen with these midyear budget cuts,” he said in an interview Thursday.

Reynolds has proposed a $1.8 million cut for community colleges for the fiscal year ending June 30. The state Senate passed a bill earlier this month proposing a similar level of cuts.

Instead of reductions for community colleges, Corbett has proposed changes to some state departments, including eliminating the state Department of Management and the Board of Regents, shifting its responsibilities to a trustee system.

Pat Garrett, a spokesman for the Reynolds' campaign, responded in a statement: 'Gov. Kim Reynolds understands the important role community colleges play for Iowa's workforce - unlike her opponents, she's attended community college herself - and wants to go beyond short-term dollar amounts in favor of a holistic long-term approach. That's why her budget also includes new money on top of the already existing resources available for more workforce training, internships and other reforms to help Iowans find opportunities that lead to careers.”

Corbett, the former mayor of Cedar Rapids who also was Speaker of the Iowa House in the 1990s, met Thursday with Eastern Iowa Community Colleges Chancellor Don Doucette and Honey Bedell, the college's chief of staff.

Doucette told Corbett he believes policymakers value community colleges and that colleges do not take sides in political disputes. Still, he said midyear budget cuts have had an impact and his budget hasn't changed much over the last five years.

'I feel supported, just poor,” he said.

The college said if $1.8 million in state funding were to be cut, it would mean a cut of about $154,000 to the college For now, Bedell said, it will not affect tuition but it likely will next year.

Corbett, in the interview, argued the burden of paying for community college costs has been shifted too much to students through tuition increases.

More of the cost, he said, ought to be picked up by the state. He said he'd raise state spending on community colleges by $4 million a year over four years. General state aid for community colleges has been around $200 million a year.

He also said there ought to be a review of the level of property taxes that community colleges are authorized to levy.

'I'm a big believer in shared responsibility,” he said. 'The balance over the years has gotten out of whack.”

Property taxes make up only a small part of community college budgets. The bulk is provided by tuition, fees and state aid.