Originally published Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 12:00 AM

Cuts at community colleges opposed

A petition signed by about 10,000 community-college students, faculty and supporters was delivered to the offices of Gov. Chris Gregoire and legislative leaders Tuesday.

By Seattle Times staff and newswires

Why do lawmakers want to raise tuition? A Q&A

Olympia

A petition signed by about 10,000 community-college students, faculty and supporters was delivered to the offices of Gov. Chris Gregoire and legislative leaders Tuesday.

Organized by the Washington chapter of the American Federation of Teachers (ATF) union, the petition opposed the Legislature's proposed cuts to community- college funding and demanded that tuition increases be kept in check. Lawmakers are contemplating allowing universities and colleges to increase tuition to offset anticipated funding cuts.

AFT Washington spokeswoman Sylvia Watson said that about 20 percent of students at community colleges are unemployed and can't afford tuition increases. She said the colleges act as an economic stimulus and now is a bad time to cut resources.

Also Tuesday, students at several community colleges, including Seattle Central and Shoreline, held campus demonstrations against the proposed cuts.

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