President's Message

Your Voice Will be Needed

Last year the state budget was up 2%, even in the face of the hopefully short economic downturn. K-12 education spending was up 7%, as it should be, but the Commonwealth's public higher education system was slapped with a $50 million decrease - made all the worse by a slash of $10 million in student aid.

Our public system provides tremendous services to the Commonwealth in workforce development, lifelong learning, and developmental education to remedy the deficiencies that the MCAS test is making clear. The pressures on us are enormous.

Last June the Boston Globe wrote a three part editorial on the community colleges, calling them the "Education Safety Net." The editorial noted "The attention of the state's educational establishment has been focused on kindergarten through the 12th grade and the controversy over the MCAS tests. But people with merely a high-school education have experienced a drop in real income over the last 20 years. The key to a successful career is education beyond high school, and community colleges are ideally situated to provide targeted instruction geared to the workplace." In 1997 the mean earnings of a high school graduate was $22,154, and with an associate's degree that rose to $28,514. With a bachelor's degree that average was $38,112. A consultant recently reported to the Board of Higher Education that "higher education is the most powerful tool there is to improve the quality of life in a state" And by quality is meant productivity and income.

The Board of Higher Education and the Commonwealth's colleges and universities have worked very hard over the last five years to be what they need to be for our citizens in terms of access and quality. The public higher ed system offer tremendous value, and our graduates provide value to the state in their higher earnings over their careers, and the trained workforce that modern industry requires and so desperately seeks.

In short, dollars invested in public higher education provide a return to everyone in the Commonwealth. Where there is a will there is a way. The legislature needs to restore funding to public higher education in the FY 2003 budget.

Unfortunately the budget promises to be devastating for us. A 5.5% decline over last years abysmal figures. We know we will have to speak out - quietly at first, and perhaps much louder soon. Your participation will be necessary - your voice must rise to the occasion.

Philip Mahler,
MCCC President