Following the release of his Road Map for Affordable and Accessible Higher Education yesterday, John Chiang’s campaign for governor today announced a major endorsement in the education community: the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Staff Guild, Local 1521A. AFT Local 1521A represents 1,300 Clerical and Technical employees in the Los Angeles Community College District and is the largest unit of community college classified employees in California.
“We believe John Chiang will be an outstanding Governor on behalf of working families and the community in general, particularly during these very difficult times,” said Velma J. Butler, President of the AFT Staff Guild, Local 1521A. “We recognize that John will be an advocate for public education and will fight to restore full funding for education and social services.”
“I’m proud to receive the endorsement of the AFT Staff Guild, Local1521A and its members, who are all a vital part of our community college and higher education system,” said Chiang. “Education is the reason why my parents came to this country to start over, and it’s the reason why I’m able to be running for governor today. Investing in public education has always been one of my top priorities, which is why just yesterday I released a new plan to make higher education in California more affordable and accessible to every Californian. As governor, I’ll push for all of California’s students to have access to two free years of community college, will cut public university tuitions and fees by nearly half, and make California students the first priority in the application process.”
As both California state treasurer and formerly as state controller, John Chiang has consistently fought to protect and invest in California’s young people and students, and he’ll go even further as governor by making stronger investments in public education:
- Chiang yesterday released a higher education plan that would return California to its community college roots by giving every Californian access to two free years of community college, cut tuition and fees for undergraduate in-state residents at public universities by nearly 50 percent, and relieve student debt by helping students refinance their loans.
- Chiang has put forward an early and K-12 education plan that would invest in early childhood education and free universal pre-kindergarten, K-12 education, and specifically obtain and train new teachers.
- Chiang recently came out in support of a bill in the United States Senate that would increase federal funding for higher education, so that all students in California can graduate without any debt at all.
- As treasurer, Chiang helped launch Every Kid Counts College Savings Matching Grant Program that provides $3 million in funding to help low- and moderate-income California families save for college.
- Chiang launched the Scholar Dollar program to make more than $300,000 available annually to K-8 public and charter schools to help pay for extracurricular and after-school programs.
- By restructuring California’s state debt, Chiang helped generate more than $6 billion for schools, infrastructure, and public safety.