Community Colleges Push For More Funding

The economic downturn has put more demands on Mississippi’s community and junior colleges. Officials from these schools are hoping lawmakers will increase funding to help cover the costs. MPB's Stephen Koranda reports.

Community college officials would like to see funding increase more than 30 percent, or around 75 million dollars. Eric Clark is director of the state Community College Board. He says Mississippi’s changing economy requires a better educated workforce.

“The garment plants are gone, unskilled labor doesn’t have the opportunity to have a productive life now. It’s the community colleges that are teaching our people the jobs skills to be prosperous in the 21st century and to attract great jobs to our state.”

Over the last decade Mississippi’s community colleges have increased enrollment more than 30 percent. In the last year alone the number of students increased around 10 percent says Clark.

“This is historically true. In a recession enrollment in a community college goes up. The reason is because people are afraid of losing their jobs and they say ‘I need more job skills, I need to be more valuable in the marketplace.’”

Community colleges can also be a better value for some students. 20-year-old Marquissa Anderson was one of more than 50 students visiting the capital yesterday. She plans to transfer to Mississippi College later this year to pursue medicine. She says the Community College gave her a start she could afford.

“Especially for my family, cost is a very important factor. It was cheap and affordable, and I was able to get a lot of scholarships. So really, I haven’t paid a dime at all. So that was really a big help.”

Federal stimulus dollars could help lawmakers come closer to meeting the colleges' requests. Nearly 400 million dollars for education could be on the way to Mississippi.