FIGHTING FOR FUNDING FOR CITY COLLEGES

May 15, 2003

Chicago Defender

Watson to College Board: Give back $35 million now!

Calling for an end to the "double standard" of funding city colleges, Dr. Wayne Watson, the chancellor, Wednesday revealed he is facing a $19 million deficit this year and a projected shortfall next year of $28 million.

Testifying before Ald. Patrick J. O'Connor's (40th) Education Committee, Watson also said he wants the state to do what it does to other college districts in Illinois and pay for the building of new colleges "where there is a need."

Watson called for the adoption of a new funding formula and a return of $35 million the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) allegedly owes city colleges.

"We were underfunding about $35 million...," said Watson, adding the city of Chicago "has not been treated fairly."

Acceptance of a new funding formula would help sustain the city colleges system, because it would "allow one to get the appropriate state aid reimbursement for the adult education courses...."

Watson said the formula is more "student-enrollment driven" and is more fair than the current one he says "is not fair because it does not appropriately fund adult education, GED and other programs.

"It does not take into account the expenses that colleges have to put into running an adult education program. It doesn't take into account that there is no tuition being charged for adult education, and it takes grant dollars and backs them out," he stated.

"By correcting those three things, you eventually come up with a formula that is fair...."

He said the Council of Presidents of Community Colleges have agreed to this "if we hold them harmless and come up with the additional dollars."

Watson said the ICCB has also agreed to this. "It will cost about $7.4 million, and we'll get about $5 million of it," he stated.

He also explained how legislative action is needed to fix the credit hour formula and said $7.2 million is needed to "fix" the credit hour grant for this year. The city colleges of Chicago will receive 5.4 million of these new dollars under this formula revision.

Watson said the formula for equalization "is broken" and that Chicago's portion of these funds has declined from $16,700,000 in FY 2000 to $1,500,000 in the ICCB proposed FY 2004 budget.

"We need to persuade the ICCB to freeze the funding level of the equalization grant at FY 2003, (City Colleges of Chicago

According to Watson, the city colleges of Chicago's financial resources have been diverted downstate over the last decade by the ICCB by over $35 million with the victims being the students.

Watson said funding to the ICCB has jumped by 2.3 percent from $310 million to $317 million from FY 2001 to FY 2003 while funding to the city colleges of Chicago has declined by 17 percent from $62 million to $51 million for the same time frame.

Attending the meeting were Alds. Ed H. Smith (28th) and Helen Shiller (46th) who backed Watson's call for greater funding and acceptance of the new formula that will help sustain the city colleges system.

"I'm shocked after ten years that these people have continuously taken money from the city colleges and the city of Chicago," said Smith. "That's bias, and they have to quit it now...stop."

Copyright 2003 Chicago Defender