Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

PHOENIX (AP) - The 10 community-college districts in Arizona are forming a council to represent their interests at the Legislature.

While the two-year schools already have a lobbyist, the new Arizona Community College Coordinating Council soon will hire an executive director who can push the colleges' agenda and fight for a share of Arizona's education funding.

The Arizona Republic (http://bit.ly/UIEZbC) says the Maricopa County Community College District governing board recently approved the measure.

State funding to the community colleges has significantly decreased over the past few years, including a cut of nearly $60 million since 2008 to the Maricopa Community Colleges.

The Maricopa district is the largest with about 250,000 students a year taking at least one class.

Other districts are Navajo, Cochise, Coconino, Graham, Mohave, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai and Yuma/La Paz.