April is National Community College Month, and we want to make sure legislators understand the value Oregon's community colleges bring to our state. Oregon community college board members and community members are being asked to contact their local legislators to urge them to fully fund community colleges at $702 million for the 2021-23 biennium. Funding at this level could keep tuition increases to an average of 3.5 percent per year statewide. Every dollar cut from the Community College Support Fund must be made up by raising tuition or cutting programs and services, moving educational opportunities out of the reach of the Oregonians with the most need.

Colleges serve the communities that have been most affected by the pandemic. Many community college students face barriers made worse by these catastrophic events and the move to online education. The pandemic and wildfires are preventing many systemically marginalized students from enrolling. An entire cohort of students could be left behind by this pandemic if we do not address the challenges they face.

Community colleges are also essential to responding to a recession, offering shorter-term programs directed at getting unemployed Oregonians retrained and back in the workforce as quickly as possible. Community colleges are an educational safety net for all Oregonians at any skill or educational level, especially those who have traditionally been marginalized, and serve as a beacon of hope for economic and family recovery for Oregonians.

Please use the tools* on this page to contact your legislator today, and make a real difference in affordability for Oregon's community college students and put Oregonians back to work!

*Please note that if you do not wish to use a prefix when composing the message to legislators, please type "none", "n/a" or press the space bar several times to create a blank space.