Our community college system is terribly important for California. It’s a gateway for people to complete their education and be able to get better paying jobs. It’s a place for people to take classes that interest them. It can never be overstated how important education truly is.

This is why we support Proposition 92 in the upcoming Feb. 5 election.

Proposition 92 is the best for the community colleges around this state. It will formally establish the community college system in the California State Constitution, lower community college fees to $15 per unit and create a funding requirement separate from K-12 education.

The current funding system was created when voters passed Proposition 98 in 1988. This created a minimum level of funding for K-12 education based on California’s general fund and property tax revenues.

Proposition 92 replaces the current arrangement with a separate fund for community colleges. The money would be based upon both the general fund level as well as the youth population between the ages of 18 and 25 in California, not the number of students enrolled in community college systems.

According to the wording in the proposition, the fees would stay at $15 per unit unless the per capita personal income exceeded 6.7 percent in any year.

This proposition would provide much needed support for California’s increasingly pathetic higher educational system. With rising costs and students graduating with more and more debt, this would ensure that people have access to the public education system.