JACKSON, Miss. – More than 100 students, faculty, presidents and trustees of the state’s 15 community colleges rallied at the Capitol in Jackson Feb. 28 to ask state legislators to follow through on the second year commitment for mid-level funding.

Last year lawmakers committed to mid-level funding through Senate Bill 2364, a historic measure endorsing per-student funding for community colleges that is midway between per-student funding for K-12 students and regional public university students. Passed without a dissenting vote in either house, the bill was signed into law by Gov. Haley Barbour.

The 15 community colleges are asking for a $60 million increase in a second year of a three-year plan to position the community colleges at per-student funding that is mid-level between K-12 and regional public universities.

“Less than 7 cents of every dollar in the state of Mississippi that is spent on education is spent in our community and junior colleges,” said Marilyn Young, an English instructor at East Mississippi Community College and president of the Mississippi Faculty Association for Community and Junior Colleges. “We are doing so much – and deserve so much more funding from the state.”

Dr. Eric Clark, executive director of the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges since January, pointed out that half of all the undergraduates in Mississippi are at a community college. About 70,000 students are taking credit courses and another 275,000 people are in workforce training, GED courses or adult basic education courses.

“Nearly 10 percent of the entire population of the state is doing work at a community college to make their individual lives better and our state better. Funding community colleges is, quite literally, funding the future of Mississippians,” Clark said. “Last year for the entire year, tuition and fees, on average were $1,712. That is an incredible bargain.”

Brandon Everett of Laurel, a Jones County Junior College student, has a certificate in general machine shop and is working on another in automotive with an eye toward an eventual degree in mechanical engineering at Mississippi State University.

“Jones County Junior College was the affordable way for me to continue my education. Without that option, I probably would never have continued my education,” said Everett, who is the third of four children in a single-parent family.

Ambere Moon of Shannon, a sophomore elementary education major at Itawamba Community College, said the small atmosphere at a two-year college has given her an opportunity to take part in campus life. “I have grown to love all that college has to offer because I started at a two-year college,” Moon said.

David Cole, Itawamba Community College president and chairman of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges, said the colleges are crucial “to removing barriers by keeping our colleges affordable, by being placed near the people we serve and having quality programs on our campuses. By removing barriers we are helping individuals and their families improve their lives.”

State Sen. Alan Nunnelee, R-Tupelo, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, acknowledged the role community colleges play.

“We understand you have done tremendous work and we want to do everything we can to support you,” he said.

Northwest Mississippi Community College President, Dr. Gary Lee Spears, was included in those present at the event.