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Maricopa Community Colleges plead for state aid restoration
With a local footprint supporting one in every 30 jobs in Maricopa County, Maricopa Community Colleges call on state lawmakers to reverse over a decade of zero funding. FOX 10's Annalisa Pardo reports.
TEMPE, Ariz. - Maricopa Community Colleges is giving the state of Arizona a failing grade.
"This is our 12th year of getting zero dollars from the state," said Lauren Armour, Government Relations Director for Maricopa Community College.
What we know:
She said the state initially eliminated their funding during years of recession, but 12 years later it still isn't restored. This funding absence forced them to raise tuition four years ago, and rely on increased property taxes.
"We can only do that for so long," Armour said. "We will never compromise quality. What we will compromise on is capacity. What we will have to do less of is that quick, comprehensive response to workforce needs."
Local perspective:
Those sentiments are echoed by Maricopa Community Colleges business student Cali.
"Arizona workforce are in the classrooms right now," Cali said. "We are the next generation of nurses, technicians, instructors as well as leaders, and we need your support to make sure we don't go without funding another year."
Cali's concerns extend beyond the classroom, having used services provided at Maricopa Community Colleges to overcome homelessness and hunger.
"Look beyond the numbers, because there are real people behind them," Cali said.
What they're saying:
But legislators are defending their budget. In a statement to FOX 10, Republican Representative David Livingston, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, addressed the funding allocation.
"State funding for community colleges is intended to support districts with more limited local taxing capacity," Livingston said in an emailed statement. "Maricopa Community Colleges is not one of them. The legislature has supported targeted investments in high-demand fields like STEM, but broad operating aid is hard to justify when Maricopa Colleges is already sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in ending fund balances."
By the numbers:
Meanwhile, touting an annual impact of nearly $9 billion, and a workforce footprint of one in every 30 jobs in Maricopa County, the Maricopa Community College system is pleading with lawmakers to make next year different.
"An investment in Maricopa Community Colleges is one of the highest impact investments you can make in the Arizona economy," said Armour.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Lauren Armour, Cali, and Republican Representative David Livingston.