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1. Congratulations, Emilio!
2. "Prop 401 Question of the Week?"

2.  "Prop 401 Question of the Week"
How will the passage of the bond help prevent significant tuition increases?

More students require more classrooms, more laboratories, more technology, more parking and more equipment.  Every institution handles the needs associated with growth differently.  Some colleges and universities are forced to implement enrollment  caps, some simply raise tuition by a thousand dollars or more, while some have significant endowments that allow programs to be developed and facilities to be built with minimal additional expense to students.

Accessibility and affordability are taken seriously by the Maricopa Community Colleges.  In order to keep classes small, keep educational quality high and keep job training current, the Maricopa Community Colleges use a number of resources to fund the programs, services and facilities required by a growing student population.

Those resources include tuition, property taxes and state funding.  Additionally, General Obligation Bonds provide funding for the construction of classrooms, labs, instructional buildings and equipment to meet the demands of student growth.  When these bonds are issued, all property owners in Maricopa County share the cost of new facilities.  This prevents those costs from being solely passed on to the students.  Thus, tuition can remain lower for students and primary sources of funding can be dedicated to operating facilities that meet the instructional needs of faculty and provide classroom support.

As state support continues to decline, a larger portion of college operating costs are currently borne by tuition and fees.  Placing the additional burden of large capital development on income from tuition and fees would most likely result in tuition increases and in enrollment and facility restrictions.