Scott Lay's dire proclamation

The Lay Man

College cuts will depend on taxpayers (Daily Bulletin)

     As if Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to slash $400 million from community colleges' budget was not bad enough, it looks like it could get worse.
     "If its an all-cuts budget with no revenues, we estimate it will be $900 million cut from colleges," said Scott Lay, a president and chief executive officer of the Community College League of California.
     Lay made the dire proclamation on Thursday during a meeting with Chaffey College's faculty and staff.
     Brown's spending plan, which assumes voters approve a $12 billion extension of existing temporary taxes in a June election, would eliminate funding for 67,856 full-time students across California. Chaffey College would lose $3.7 million, or 1,716 students.
     If the tax revenues are taken off the table, community colleges would need to cut an additional $500 million in each of the next five years, according to the league.
. . .
     To make sure the worst case scenario does not become a reality, Lay suggested faculty and staff lobby the public about the potential consequences to enrollment numbers and classes.
     "If you ask voters 'Do you want to raise taxes?' they will say no," he said. "If you ask voters 'Do you want to continue pay the same taxes to avoid cuts in K-12 schools, higher education, health and human services?' they will say 'Of course.' Otherwise, $12 billion in cuts will double to $24 billion in cuts in order to balance the budget. It's pretty stark."
     Lay also urged the audience to look for ways to "work smart" in order to graduate more students or help them transfer to four-year institutions….

• Change.org Petition Calls for Kaplan U. to Be Shut Down (Inside Higher Ed). See also Chronicle of Higher Education