Salem This paper is based on the remarks of Governor Roberts at the AACC Convention in Portland, Oregon, April 28, 1993. From the Oregon bottle bill and the most comprehensive land use laws, to the Oregon Health Plan and the Educational Act of the 21st Century, Oregon leads this nation in planning today for the communities we are building for tomorrow. As a former chair of the Mt. Hood Community College Board, I know how innovative and creative community colleges have been, not only here in Oregon but across this nation.
Some people think that community colleges are simply a small patch in the educational quilt.
We know the community colleges play a much, much larger role. We understand that community colleges are essential for job training, for displaced and transitional workers, for access to affordable higher education, and for building partnerships for a better quality life in the communities of this nation. With the Oregon Benchmarks, we know where we are now and where we want to be in the future on more than 150 separate goals relating to our people, our quality of life, and our economy. Every two years, we chart the gains and the losses toward each of the Benchmarks that we have selected in this state. I believe so strongly in those Benchmarks as a way to make government work better and produce better and deliver better, that I used them to pull together my 1993-95 budget, even as I had to make 1.2 billion dollars in cuts from a 6 billion dollar general fund.