California Community colleges chief decries budget cuts' toll on students - Carla Rivera, Los Angeles Times

California community colleges have shed more than 300,000 students since 2009 because the students cannot get into classes, and the toll is likely to grow unless the state reverses course and pumps more money into higher education. That bleak assessment was delivered last week by California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott in a State of Community Colleges address at Pasadena City College. Scott served as president of the college from 1987 to 1995, before being elected to the state Legislature. He became chancellor of the community college system in 2009 and recently announced his retirement, effective Sept. 1.