LACCD officials praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom for his leadership and support of community college students by including funding that will expand the Los Angeles College Promise program, and other similar programs throughout the state, to two full years of free tuition.
Gov. Newsom, in his May Revision budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2019-20, not only provided funding for the second year of free tuition, but also allocated full funding for the new Student Centered Funding Formula that determines how community colleges receive annual budget allocations from the State.
“Thank you so much Governor Newsom for your leadership in making LACCD and all of the state’s community colleges a budget priority. Our Governor’s support means that AB 2, the proposed legislation by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago for free second-year tuition, can be successfully implemented. AB 2 embraces the hopes and aspirations of our students in LACCD and throughout California,” LACCD Board President Mike Fong said.
Assemblymember Santiago, who announced the introduction of AB 2 at LACCD’s Los Angeles Trade-Technical College last December, said “Governor Newsom’s revised budget is a grand slam for California. I am especially thrilled to see an increase in funding to provide a second year of tuition-free community college for even more students. We’re going to get AB 2 passed so our high schoolers won’t have to give up a college education just because they can’t afford it.”
LACCD Chancellor Rodriguez, Ph.D., echoed the comments, adding “Governor Newsom’s forward-looking budget reaffirms and invests in the essential mission of our community colleges to provide a high quality, accessible and affordable higher education to all, regardless of zip code, skin color, economic background or immigration status.”
In 2017, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the start of the L.A. College Promise program, www.lacollegepromise.org, that guaranteed the first year of free tuition for all high school seniors graduating from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) who then enrolled full time at one of LACCD’s nine colleges. The local program helped generate statewide support for legislation providing free, first-year tuition at all of California’s community colleges under AB 19, also authored by Assemblymember Santiago.
William Boyer
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