California Governor signs Good Neighbor Bill, reducing Nevada student cost at LTCC
Submitted by editor on Fri, 10/09/2015 - 12:04pm
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation that will make attending Lake Tahoe Community College more affordable for residents in neighboring Nevada communities.
California Senate Bill 605, written by Sen. Ted Gaines, will allow Nevada residents living in the Tahoe Basin to pay a reduced tuition rate to attend LTCC, instead of the higher out-of-state tuition fees that other non-residents pay. In order to become operative, Nevada must enact a reciprocal agreement offering an equal discount to nearby California students who wish to attend Western Nevada College in Carson City. A similar bill to SB605, Nevada SB414, written by Sen. James Settelmeyer, was signed into law by Gov. Brian Sandoval in June.
CA SB605 provides for a 45 percent discount to Nevada residents living in the Tahoe Basin who attend LTCC. The current California resident tuition is $31 per unit, or $1,395 for a full-time student. The current non-resident tuition is $170 per unit, or $7,650 for full-time. With SB605 in place, students on the Nevada side of the border will pay $93 per unit, or $4,185 to attend full-time. That is a savings of $77 per unit, or $3,465 for full-time, year-round attendance.
LTCC had a Good Neighbor Policy in place with Nevada for more than two decades that was discontinued in 2011, when Nevada’s system of higher education was forced to make deep cuts during the country’s recession. The loss of the GNP affected low-income students living in communities near Stateline particularly hard. Many were service industry workers who could no longer afford to continue their college studies at LTCC, and had difficulty affording the commute to Carson City to attend WNC.
“This bill will help manage those costs for students, strengthen LTCC, and contribute to a healthier regional economy,” said LTCC Superintendent/President Dr. Kindred Murillo. “This is another game changer for the Tahoe Basin. Education should not be stopped because there is a state line, as it only hurts the students who need us the most. This legislation will help those students who struggle with transportation, working multiple jobs — the students who need community college the most.”
The next steps in implementing this new Good Neighbor policy include developing policies and procedures for residency, finalizing an agreement with Western Nevada College, and getting approval from the California Community College Board of Governors. LTCC is working to implement the new, reduced fees for nearby Nevada residents as quickly as possible.
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