During the 82nd session of the Texas Legislature in 2011, the Dallas County Community College District will urge legislators to support two primary priorities: funding for enrollment growth and equity for employee health care.

The Dallas County Community College District has more than 100,000 reasons each semester that demonstrate why community colleges must be a legislative priority: students. In fall 2010, DCCCD enrolled more than 72,000 credit and 28,000 continuing education students.

Those freshmen and sophomore enrollments make DCCCD the largest undergraduate institution in Texas. Our students believe that this district can help them build a brighter future for themselves, their families and their communities. We, in turn, are proud of their success and our contributions to the state’s economic vitality and workforce education needs.

Community colleges represent the largest sector of higher education in Texas, enrolling more than 75 percent of the state’s freshmen and sophomores — and more than 75 percent of all minority freshmen and sophomores, too, which reflects the ethnic diversity we see every day across the state. Community colleges serve as a gateway that provides access to higher education for people from every walk of life and from every community in Texas. We are the key to success in achieving the state’s goals for "Closing the Gaps," and DCCCD — plus the 49 other community colleges in Texas  — attracts those students who are needed in the state’s higher education system.

With this fact in mind, DCCCD and other two-year institutions in Texas believe that the focus on community colleges and the contributions they make to individual success, community needs and economic growth is earned and must be funded.

During this particularly challenging legislative session — which brings the state's budget issues to the forefront — we believe it is critical to limit any additional funding cuts to community colleges in order to ensure that we can continue to educate students, provide workforce training and offer employment stability.  

For more information, contact Justin Lonon, vice chancellor for public and governmental affairs, at 214-378-1824.