Further, community colleges have an "open to everyone" motto and a mandate to teach traditional students (recent high school graduates), help older students who are returning to school after many years away and to meet the needs of business and industry with vocational programs. Traditionally, they have been education's best bargain.

But that is changing, and the trend toward less taxpayer support and higher tuition is troubling.

According to a University of North Texas study, there has been a dramatic drop nationwide in the percentage of community-college budgets funded from state appropriations between 1981 and 2001. The study shows Utah taxpayers provided 54 percent of the colleges' budgets in 1981 and that figure dropped to 45 percent by 2001.

State education officials cite somewhat different percentages. But they agree that the decline in state appropriations is worrisome, with the state's share of all per-student support declining 18 percent between 1998 and 2005.

"Unfunded growth" has been a budgeting problem for all colleges and universities for years, and community colleges, especially Salt Lake Community College, have been growing rapidly.

SLCC, with 11 campuses throughout the Salt Lake Valley, is the state's largest higher-education institution, with more than 25,000 traditional students, plus up to 35,000 more who are involved in special programs. In addition, 4,500 to 5,000 high school students take remedial and college-preparation courses at SLCC.

SLCC and Utah's other, much smaller two-year colleges, Snow College in Ephraim and College of Eastern Utah in Price, teach 22 percent of all students in Utah's higher education system, which comprises nine institutions statewide. As universities tighten admission requirements and limit enrollment, the role of community colleges grows.

Higher Education Commissioner Rich Kendell wisely wants to stabilize their funding at 75 percent state/25 percent tuition. That idea has real merit.

Utah's economic development and prosperity depend on these schools and their ability to educate a diverse population. Lower- and middle-income Utahns depend on them to provide affordable education.