Hello everyone,

Our meetings with legislators this week have been very positive with clear support for a request of $529 million for community colleges.

Attached are talking points that we have been using when communicating with legislators. I am sure that many of you have lots of experience working with legislators but for those of you who do not here are some tips:

1. If you are writing to them keep it short - no more than one page! Make it easy to read by using just two or three bulleted points.
2. It's better to only address one issue at a time. If you want to address several issues or bills it's better to send separate letters. That way your comments end up in the right folder for the legislator's future reference!
3. If you are visiting the capitol it helps to make an appointment. Legislators rarely give you more than fifteen minutes so have your message prepared, leave it in writing.
4. If you meet with a legislator it is good to ask if they need anything from the college - data, stories etc. If they ask for something that you can't provide, please let my office know so that we can be sure the legislator receives a response.
5. If you hear anything troublesome, please let me know so that we can address it immediately by letting our professional lobbyists know. Often, if we can get out in front of concerns we can save ourselves a lot of work.

If anyone is interested in coming up to the legislature with me, please let me know and we can try to arrange it.

Thanks.

Mary.

Lane Community College
2007 Legislative Session Talking Points
February 1, 2007

o Oregon’s community colleges need a minimum of $529 million in state funding to meet current and emerging workforce training and education demands.

o However, some colleges, including Lane Community College, still face reductions unless the Community College Support Fund is increased even more, to $560 million for all colleges.

o State funding for Lane Community College has fallen 20 percent in five years, from $30.86 million in FY02, to $24.60 million in FY07.

o Lane is projecting a $4.7 million deficit in 2007/08 based on the governor’s budget. Reductions in programs and services are inevitable unless community college funding is increased.

o The governor’s proposal is an increase of 12.7 percent over the current biennium, but is only 4 percent more than in 2001, not counting inflation. This is not even a maintenance-of-service level for Lane. Had the 2001 budget been rolled up for inflation, the budget allocation would be about $563 million and Lane’s share of that would balance our budget – at least for 2008.

o The governor’s proposal includes capital construction funding for projects at 14 community colleges, including a health and wellness building at Lane. The building would upgrade facilities for nursing, EMT, and fitness education programs; improve distance learning capacity; and provide classroom space for education partners such as the Oregon Health Sciences University Bachelor of Science nursing program, and high schools on a career pathway to health care and wellness programs.

o Lane students would benefit under the governor’s proposal of $110 million for the Oregon Student Assistance Commission to fund the shared responsibility model for post-secondary financial aid in the second year of the biennium.

o Lane is turning around the enrollment decline, increasing 5.7% in 2005-06 and 4.2% in fall 2006. Most other Oregon community colleges are still declining.

o In spite of the budget Lane Community College has continued its focus on innovation evidenced by projects such as the Regional Technical Education Consortium (RTEC), Career Pathways, sustainability, partnerships with other colleges and the business community, fund raising, and seeking grants to support our mission (such as the GIS and Dental Hygiene.)

o Oregon’s economic future depends on a trained and educated workforce. To ensure that, the legislature must increase the Community College Support Fund.