HAPPENING NOW: All-day awareness event @ South Seattle College as part of funding fight

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(WSB photos)

60 percent of our state’s college students, 40 percent of the funding. That’s one rallying point as educators and students fight for more funding of the state’s Community and Technical Colleges, including South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) on Puget Ridge, where an all-day awareness/advocacy event continues until about 3 pm at the Clock Tower Plaza. Participants have numerous options for sending messages to Olympia, where a bill to “Reinvest in Our Colleges” got stuck in committee:

Other messages are on display in signage reflecting SSC’s multicultural, multilingual student body:

Among the educators we found at the plaza, SSC president Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap:

Dealing with the budget was a major challenge she listed when we talked with her as her presidency began last fall. Meantime, the background for today’s event and others around the state is here.

holly gilman April 16, 2019 (4:41 pm)

Such an important event! Everyone, please let your legislators know that they need to fund our CTCs. I admire the students and admin for working with faculty to make this point visible to our community.

Esther S. April 16, 2019 (5:57 pm)

Our community college system is funded by the Washington State Legislature, and has been chronically underfunded for years. The Legislature has been giving the colleges only a portion of the money needed to run the colleges, and saying the colleges need to come up with the rest, but the colleges don’t have that money. We are seeing the results at South Seattle College with cuts to classes, programs, resources and staff. I have talked to students who have gone to other colleges because they couldn’t get the classes that they needed. We have lost highly respected programs like our Pastry Program. Faculty salaries are low and many faculty can’t afford to live in Seattle – in fact, potential new faculty are turning down tenure track positions because the salaries are low in all disciplines. Many faculty in the Seattle Colleges work multiple jobs in order to survive financially. Our community colleges contribute to Washington’s economy by providing trained employees for good jobs in Seattle and around the state. Investing in Washington State community colleges makes good sense. We ask for the Legislature to provide 100% of funding to our colleges (not require the colleges to come up with local campus funds), and to allocate money for regional pay for community college employees in King County. We want to be able to continue to offer great classes and programs, and help our students succeed!

Zahra Alavi April 16, 2019 (7:21 pm)

Students, faculty, staff, and the community surrounding the Seattle Colleges know that community and technological colleges play a vital part in providing avenues for upward mobility. Community and technical colleges are severely and shamefully underfunded by Washington State legislators and Gov. Inslee. The faculty and students in the Trnsitional Studies division know what’s at stake. https://youtu.be/Uekc8Pmq8sc

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