Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday released her budget for the 2021-23 biennium, which includes the same funding allocation of $640.9 million for community colleges they received for 2019-21.
According to the Oregon Community College Association (OCCA), community colleges need $702 million to maintain their current service level and keep tuition increases to 3.5 percent or below on average statewide.
“We recognize the budgetary hardships every sector of state government has experienced due to COVID19 and the devastating wildfires, and can appreciate the difficult choices the Governor had to make with the revenue available,” said Dr. Cam Preus, executive director of the OCCA. “However, as Oregon’s workforce training experts, community colleges are critical to the state’s economic and family recovery. Adequate funding to support the colleges is vital to reviving the state’s workforce.”
In a Tuesday briefing with media, Gov. Brown indicated she was disappointed she could not recommend increased funding for higher education, and called community colleges Oregon’s “workhorses” because of their impact on the state’s economy and ability to train necessary workers.
