Posted on: Monday, September 1, 2003

EDITORIAL
Community college cuts deprive the poor

When adequately supported, community colleges are democracy at its finest. They provide a springboard into higher education and better lives for low-income students and immigrants.

Plus, they allow high school dropouts to get back on track, and offer vocational training that is otherwise unavailable. We can't rave about them enough.

So we are greatly troubled that hundreds of classes may be cut from Hawai'i's community colleges because of Gov. Linda Lingle's spending restrictions and workload reductions for faculty.

Community college education is by no means flab.

Advertiser higher education writer Beverly Creamer reports that a spending restriction at Leeward Community College has led to the loss of 35 classes this fall semester, and could result in 70 more in the spring. At Honolulu Community College, 40 fall classes have been cut and another 40 are expected to be eliminated in spring. And at Windward Community College, which has been spared this fall, 25 classes might be cut next semester.

Naturally, community college officials are scrambling to come up with creative ways to keep their offerings intact. But their options are limited. Repair and maintenance projects will probably be deferred, resulting in rundown facilities, and supplies will be cut.

In short, the outlook is bleak, and that's ultimately Hawai'i's loss because education is good for the economy. We urge the Lingle administration, the Legislature and the University of Hawai'i to protect the state's community colleges because they're among the dwindling gateways to opportunity.