SUGAR GROVE – While some candidates seeking election to the Waubonsee Community College Board would welcome President Barack Obama's proposal to provide tuition-free community college, making it happen would not be so simple.
Three of the candidates – challengers Emmett Bonfield, Jimmie Delgado and incumbent Rebecca Oliver – appeared Thursday at a candidate forum at the Sugar Grove Public Library. Another challenger, Patrick Kelsey, did not appear at the event, which was sponsored by the Sugar Grove Chamber of Commerce. The four candidates are vying for two available positions in the April 7 election.
Candidates appeared as part of a forum that featured those running for all races affecting Sugar Grove. Those running in uncontested races introduced themselves, but those in contested races also faced question-and-answer sessions. Though Kelsey was not able to attend, he responded via email to a request for a response.
Oliver and Delgado said at the forum that providing tuition-free community college would be helpful to students, but it wouldn’t mean it would be truly free. The money would come from somewhere, and they had questions about who would pay. Bonfield didn’t support the proposal on any level. He said if people want to go to college, “they should pay for it.”
“It is an extremely bad idea,” Bonfield said. “Something for nothing isn’t worth anything.”
Delgado said “at its core, it sounds like a good idea, but it also sounds like more money.” He said there must be accountability in the proposal, but added that it’s important to encourage people to have access to community college, which could make a significant difference in their lives.
Oliver said there was “nothing we would like to do more than that.”
“Just to say, ‘Do it,’ … That’s easy to do,” she said. “But you would have to have the infrastructure and groundwork laid.”
Kelsey wrote the proposal “is an admirable goal but one that would be difficult to fund without a fundamental change in federal appropriations to community colleges.”
Candidates also were asked whether they would support future tuition increases. Earlier this year, trustees approved a tuition increase that dictates $6 more a credit hour. Officials at the time pointed out that the $110 fee for a credit hour remains below the state average of $118.77.
Bonfield said administrators were making “extraordinary wages,” and he didn’t agree on raising tuition.
“I would do everything in my power not to raise tuition,” he said, adding “you would have a difficult time to get me to raise tuition even a penny.”
Oliver said board members don’t want to raise tuition, but “we have an institution we have to run.” She said trustees have “been very careful” to make sure the tuition fees remain low.
Delgado said it was a difficult issue, but asked “how can we provide resources if we are not charging the market rate?”
“We need to provide the resources,” Delgado said. “If the resources cost more money, then we should charge the users.”
Kelsey wrote the college “is a phenomenal value for the cost per credit hour paid by student tuition.”
“Educational costs will continue to rise, and to stay competitive, Waubonsee will require the financial resources to continue providing best-in-class education to its students,” Kelsey wrote.
On the Web
Visit KCChronicle.com to view videos of candidates speaking at the Sugar Grove forum.